When the FBI Comes Calling…®
UNITED STATES JURISDICTION (continued)
Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction
18 U.S.C. § 7 (2005).
The special maritime and territorial jurisdiction includes the following:
- The high seas, any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State; any vessel belonging in whole or in part to the United States or United States citizen, or to any corporation created by or under the laws of the United States, or any State, Territory, District, or possession of the United States, when that vessel is within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State. 18 U.S.C. § 7(1).
- In United States v. Tanner, 471 F.2d 128 (7th Cir. 1972) two of the defendants had been convicted of "willfully and maliciously" destroying the S.S. Howard L. Shaw within the special "admiralty and territorial jurisdiction of the United States" in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1363. Tanner at 131. On appeal the court looked at the conviction based on the destruction of the Shaw, noting that since it is "a vessel of Canadian registry and ownership, these offenses will qualify for federal criminal jurisdiction only if they come within the bounds of 18 U.S.C. §7(1)." Id. at 140. In other words, the Government must be able to show that the destruction of the vessel occurred on the high seas or upon any other body of water that is "both within the United States' admiralty and maritime jurisdiction and without the jurisdiction of any particular state." Id. at 141. The vessel was destroyed while it was docked at the Calumet Shipyard Dock in Calumet Harbor, a location that cannot be described as the high seas, and while some parts of the Great Lakes can be described as the high seas, a shipyard in Calumet Harbor is not included. Id. Furthermore, since section 7(1) also forbids concurrent federal and state jurisdiction, based on the words "out of the jurisdiction of any particular state" a finding of state jurisdiction is conclusive; since the explosion occurred within Illinois jurisdiction, the charge on the destruction of the Shaw fails to qualify for federal jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1363. Id.
- Any vessel registered, licensed, or enrolled under the laws of the United States, and being on a voyage upon the waters of any of the Great Lakes, or any of the waters connecting them, or upon the Saint Lawrence River where the same constitutes the International Boundary Line. Id. § 7(2).
- In United States v. Gill, 204 F.2d 740 (7th Cir. 1953), the defendant was convicted on three counts of an indictment which charged him with an assault on a woman with a dangerous weapon, assaulting the woman by beating and wounding her, and assaulting her with intent to commit felony of sodomy. Gill at 741. The indictment indicated that the assaults occurred on a vessel registered under the laws of the United States while the vessel was on a voyage from Chicago, Illinois, to Michigan City, Indiana, upon the waters of Lake Michigan. Id. The defendant challenged the third count of the indictment (assault with intent to commit felony of rape) because there is no act of Congress defining the crime of sodomy or fixing the punishment therefore, and as such, sodomy is not a crime against the United States. Id. at 741-42. Indiana, however, had defined and fixed the punishment for the crime of sodomy, and since 18 U.S.C. § 13 provides that a person can be guilty of any act which "although not made punishable by any enactment of Congress, would be punishable if committed within the jurisdiction of the state in which such place is situated by the laws thereof in force at the time of such act." Id. at 472. Since the attempted sodomy occurred within the territory of Indiana, both sections 13 and 7(2) applied. Id.
- Any lands reserved or acquired for the use of the United States, and under the exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction thereof, or any place purchased or otherwise acquired by the United States by consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of a fort, magazine, arsenal, dockyard, or other needful building. Id. § 7(3).
- In United States v. Erdos, 474 F.2d 157, 160 (4th Cir. 1973), the court determined that "special" territorial jurisdiction embraces an embassy in a foreign country acquired for the use of the United States. This holding has been both supported and sharply criticized. See In re Ski Train Fire, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22139, *24 n.70 (hereinafter, Ski Train) (citing United States v. Corey, 232 F.3d 1166, 1179 n.9 (9th Cir. 2000) (asserting jurisdiction over the prosecution of a crime committed by one U.S. citizen against another U.S. citizen on a U.S. installation abroad) and United States v. Gatlin, 216 F.3d 207, 214 & n.9 (2d Cir. 2000) (finding no jurisdiction on similar facts)). In 2000, Congress reconciled this circuit split, to a degree, by passing the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3261 et seq. Ski Train at *24 n.70.
- Any island, rock, or key containing deposits of guano, which may, at the discretion of the President, be considered as appertaining to the United States. Id. § 7(4).
- Any aircraft belonging in whole or in part to the United States, or any citizen thereof, or to any corporation created by or under the laws of the United States, or any State, Territory, District, or possession thereof, while such aircraft is in flight over the high seas, or over any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State. Id. § 7(5).
- Any vehicle used or designed for flight or navigation in space and on the registry of the United States pursuant to the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies and the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space, while that vehicle is in flight, which is from the moment when all external doors are closed on Earth following embarkation until the moment when one such door is opened on Earth for disembarkation or in the case of a forced landing, until the competent authorities take over the responsibility for the vehicle and for persons and property aboard. Id. § 7(6).
- Any place outside the jurisdiction of any nation with respect to an offense by or against a national of the United States. Id. § 7(7).
- To the extent permitted by international law, any foreign vessel during a voyage having a scheduled departure from or arrival in the United States with respect to an offense committed by or against a national of the United States. Id. § 7(8).
- With respect to offenses committed by or against a national of the United States as that term is used in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act--
- the premises of United States diplomatic, consular, military or other United States Government missions or entities in foreign States, including the buildings, parts of buildings, and land appurtenant or ancillary thereto or used for purposes of those missions or entities, irrespective of ownership; id. § 7(9)(A). and
- residences in foreign States and the land appurtenant or ancillary thereto, irrespective of ownership, used for purposes of those missions or entities or used by United States personnel assigned to those missions or entities. Id. § 7(9)(B)
Note that these provisions are not deemed to supersede any treaty or international agreement with which this paragraph conflicts, nor do they apply with respect to an offense committed by a person described in 18 U.S.C. &ssect; 3261(a). Id. § 7(9).