Jerry Johnson wrote: > > IANAL, (just need to make clear I am pulling this from my behind). > > The way I see it, we have two sets of laws here in the US (actually many more than >that, but I will try to keep this simple.) > > Federal Laws and State Laws. > > For the most part, state laws are only enforcable if the offense happens IN THAT >STATE. > > Federal laws, on the other hand, are more an issue of who did it and who they did it >to rather than where they did it. > > For example, kidnapping and transporting across state lines is illegal even if the >crime happens outside the US, if it was done BY a US Citizen or was done TO a US >citizen, or both. In the case of a non-US citizen committing a crime outside the US, >which is not a crime where it happens, to a US citizen, we seldom get the chance to >try that person, due to jurisdiction and diplomatic issues. But why do you think >Manuel Noriega is sitting in a Florida jail? This is all nothing new.
Bottom line is that we have a system of justice and I do not think that some other system of justice should hold sway on our territory unless we specifically choose to transfer jurisdiction to that system of justice. > So Lindh was only charged with FEDERAL crimes, and because he is a US citizen, >regardless of where he committed them, he can be prosecuted. But he couldn't be >charged with STATE crimes (like speeding, or robbery, or rape), because it happened >outside a state. > > I could be totally off-base here, but that is the way I understand it. > > And I have to admit, I think we have it right on this issue, where the Netherlands >does not. Suppose some American teenager comes to the Netherlands at the age of 17. Meets somebody over 18, they have sex. That would be punishable under US Federal Law if I understand it correctly, so this somebody would have to be arrested as soon as he/she enters the US. Yet we explicitly chose to allow this in the Netherlands, for our own reasons. Or an American citizen came here to work as prostitute (s)he would be arrested when visiting relatives for Christmas. But prostitution is also legal here, for reasons of our choosing. We choose which rules there are on our territory and if those rules allow things to be done to or by US citizens that would not be allowed in the US maybe the US should forbid its citizens to travel here, but it should not impose its law on our territory. Jochem -- Muffins for who recognizes the shortened quote. ______________________________________________________________________ Structure your ColdFusion code with Fusebox. Get the official book at http://www.fusionauthority.com/bkinfo.cfm Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/cf-community@houseoffusion.com/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
