You want to murder someone and get away with it? Take them to the Death Zone in Yellowstone.
If you haven't heard of it, it's one of the greatest legal loopholes ever. I'll try to lay it out in a way that makes sense.
Basically:
* Yellowstone National Park - in its entirety - falls under the jurisdiction of the District of Wyoming. If you commit a crime in Yellowstone, you'll normally be tried in Cheyenne.
* But the park's boundaries extend (slightly) into Idaho and Montana. The Idaho section is about fifty square miles. That fifty square miles is the Zone of Death.
* The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over all national parks, so (apparently) crimes committed in a national park must be prosecuted under federal laws, not state laws.
* The Constitution (which overrides ALL other law or lawmakers, ALWAYS -
@JakePaulsBeard) decrees that juries for federal criminal cases (like murder in a national park) must be made up of citizens from the state and the district where the crime was committed.* That's impossible in the Zone of Death. Since it's in Idaho and Yellowstone is administered by Wyoming, neither Idaho nor Wyoming has legal standing to host a trial for a crime committed in the Idaho section of Yellowstone.
* Furthermore, the Constitutional requirement for a jury to be comprised of residents who are from both the state and the district that the crime occurred in, runs into a big problem here. According to the US Census, there is nobody living in the Idaho district inside Yellowstone National Park. Can't form a jury if you don't have 12 locals.
* Therefore, a jury cannot be seated for a federal trial for a crime that took place inside the Zone of Death.
* The Constitution mandates the right to a jury trial for any federal charge. If a jury of their peers cannot be assembled, then a defendant cannot be punished. Not even the President can override the Constitution, the only thing that can overrule it is a full-fledged Amendment.
This loophole has been known about for years, but it's never been put to the test with a serious crime. But, it's out there. Do what you will with that knowledge.
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