157:, which entitles criminal defendants to a fair and quick trial. Kalt wondered about a hypothetical place where there were not enough eligible citizens to form a jury and theorized that there could be no trial and therefore no punishment for major crimes in that area. He later realized that there was such a place: the Idaho section of Yellowstone National Park. Horrified by his realization, Kalt shifted his focus to writing an essay about the area to persuade the government to fix the loophole. The essay, which is called "The Perfect Crime", was published in 2005 in
29:
211:, despite the Sixth Amendment problem. Belderrain cited Kalt's paper "The Perfect Crime" to explain why he believed it was illegal to have his trial with a jury from a state other than where the crime was committed. The court dismissed this argument. Belderrain took a plea deal conditioned such that he would not
171:
After Kalt discovered the loophole, he worked to have
Congress close it. He suggested to lawmakers in Wyoming that the Zone of Death be included as part of the federal district court for the District of Idaho instead of the Wyoming district, which would fix the issue. However, Congress ignored Kalt's
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in the
Montana section of Yellowstone. While that section of the park does have enough residents to form a jury, it might be difficult to put together a standing and fair one due to travel or unwillingness of members of the small population there to serve.
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The Zone of Death (highlighted in red) is defined by the intersection of
Yellowstone National Park (highlighted in green) with the state of Idaho, in the southwest corner of the park.
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concerns a location called the "Train
Station", described as consisting of "no people, no law enforcement, no judge and jury of your peers, and no one living within a hundred miles."
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to have jurisdiction over parts of multiple states, by reason of its jurisdiction including all of
Yellowstone National Park, which extends slightly beyond Wyoming's boundaries into
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consisting entirely of residents of that area. Since the Idaho portion of the park is uninhabited, a jury of residents of both the state and district could not be empaneled.
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cases nearby have attracted some media attention, no known felonies have been committed in the Zone of Death since Kalt's discovery, as of 2024.
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charge would be unable to receive a constitutional trial, and therefore could not be legally punished regardless of their guilt or innocence.
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Because of this, charges for a crime alleged to have been committed in the area of the park in Idaho would have to be tried before a
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that featured the Zone, which Box hoped would increase governmental awareness. The novel did succeed in alerting
Wyoming Senator
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652:"After high-profile disappearances, lawmaker wants federal fix to Yellowstone's "zone of death" legal loophole"
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decrees that "the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the
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As the
Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial - which is specified three separate times (
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over the park, so crimes committed in the park cannot be prosecuted under any of the states' laws.
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to the issue, but Enzi was unable to convince
Congress to discuss it. Although
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Trials in the district court are normally held at the federal courthouse in
349:"'Population Zero,' debuting at film festival, explores the Zone of Death"
405:"MSU Law Professor Discusses Yellowstone National Park's "Zone of Death""
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436:"A Legal Loophole Might Let You Get Away With Murder In Yellowstone"
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while he was planning to write an essay about technicalities of the
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540:"Inside Yellowstone's 'Zone of Death' Crimes Can't Be Prosecuted"
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Anomalous legal zone in Idaho and
Yellowstone National Park, US
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575:"Tabloid Constitutionalism: How a Bill Doesn't Become a Law"
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The constitutional loophole in this area was discovered by
678:"Yellowstone 'no man's land' leaves jurisdiction question"
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centers on four murders that occur in the Zone of Death.
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United States
District Court for the District of Wyoming
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from the original on September 1, 2015 – via the
690:
from the original on January 31, 2021 – via the
97:Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
40:is the 50-square-mile (130 km) area in the
209:U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming
709:"Where Is the Train Station in 'Yellowstone'?"
84:. In this regard, the federal government has
103:wherein the crime shall have been committed"
8:
207:ruled that Belderrain could be tried in the
195:named Michael Belderrain illegally shot an
19:For other regions with the same name, see
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272:A recurring plot device in the TV series
498:Michigan State University College of Law
409:Michigan State University College of Law
601:Michigan State University School of Law
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777:United States Sixth Amendment case law
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650:Associated Press (February 4, 2022).
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496:on January 17, 2021 – via the
434:Andrews, Robin (November 26, 2017).
48:in which, as a result of a reported
403:Gallagher, Katie (April 25, 2007).
313:Therriault, Ednor (December 2018).
415:from the original on June 27, 2020
14:
54:Constitution of the United States
621:. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
376:"Murder in majestic Yellowstone"
347:Zint, Bradley (April 22, 2016).
316:Myths and Legends of Yellowstone
223:, at least for the time being.
215:the Zone of Death issue to the
676:Morton, Tom (March 12, 2009).
1:
319:. Bowman & Littlefield.
172:suggestion. In 2007, author
74:United States district court
516:Legal Information Institute
261:The main plot of the novel
241:about a murder in the area.
129:) - a defendant facing any
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580:The Georgetown Law Journal
477:The Georgetown Law Journal
244:"This is America," a 2019
160:The Georgetown Law Journal
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782:Yellowstone National Park
202:U.S. District Court Judge
147:Michigan State University
46:Yellowstone National Park
219:, rendering the issue
123:Article III, Section 2
86:exclusive jurisdiction
72:is currently the only
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772:Fremont County, Idaho
176:wrote a novel called
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587:(6): 1971, 1975–78.
191:In December 2005, a
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683:Casper Star-Tribune
472:"The Perfect Crime"
125:; Sixth Amendment;
548:. October 17, 2017
101:State and district
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512:"Sixth Amendment"
407:(Press release).
354:Los Angeles Times
205:William F. Downes
127:Seventh Amendment
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93:Cheyenne, Wyoming
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571:Kalt, Brian C.
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255:For The People
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217:10th Circuit
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751: /
521:December 4,
445:October 20,
419:October 20,
388:October 20,
360:October 20,
332:October 20,
275:Yellowstone
265:written by
135:misdemeanor
44:section of
766:Categories
637:2007000539
615:Box, C. J.
484:(2): 675.
300:References
718:March 24,
619:Free Fire
294:Bir Tawil
267:C. J. Box
263:Free Fire
237:, a 2016
182:Mike Enzi
178:Free Fire
174:C. J. Box
141:Discovery
739:111°04′W
713:Collider
688:Archived
656:CBS News
617:(2007).
597:Archived
573:(2008).
552:June 11,
470:(2005).
413:Archived
283:See also
64:Loophole
50:loophole
736:44°17′N
661:June 3,
593:1136301
246:episode
193:poacher
167:History
82:Montana
52:in the
635:
625:
591:
490:691642
488:
440:Forbes
323:
213:appeal
131:felony
58:murder
109:]
105:[
78:Idaho
42:Idaho
720:2024
663:2024
633:LCCN
623:ISBN
589:SSRN
554:2019
523:2020
486:SSRN
447:2018
421:2018
390:2018
362:2018
334:2018
321:ISBN
221:moot
116:jury
80:and
68:The
36:The
250:ABC
248:of
197:elk
133:or
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
