There's a glaring loophole of criminal jurisdiction in Yellowstone National Park that caused it to be known as the Zone of Death. The park exists in three different states, which makes jurisdiction kind of complicated, and the way the laws are worded would make any trial very complex, if not impossible. Tom Scott explains what's going on in the Zone of Death, which is only on paper. In real life, no one lives there, and people rarely go there. It's just fine for bears and bison, however.
Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteThere have been cases tried in areas where the crime was not committed. For instance, for a well-publicized crime (say, the crime was committed on live TV), the judge may decide to move the trial somewhere else in order to get (hopefully) a nonbiased jury.
ReplyDeleteIf someone committed a crime in the so-called "zone of death," wouldn't this also apply? That is, move the case to another area where a jury could be convened?
@ Anonymous -- The video addressed this. Apparently, in the legislation covering the Zone of Death, only the accused person (not the prosecutor) can request a "change of venue" of the trial to another location. No accused in his right mind would request it though -- why make his own trial possible? Another loophole that could/should be legislatively fixed!
ReplyDeleteDeath in Yellowstone, by Lee Whittlesey touches on this subject among others.
ReplyDeleteAlso related is this map and table of deaths in Yellowstone:
https://cowboystatedaily.com/2022/03/21/yellowstone-at-150-scaldings-maulings-murders-and-other-unnatural-deaths/