In 2005, Michigan State University law professor Brian C. Kalt was researching the Sixth Amendment for a professional essay when he was struck by a curious question: Is there a place in the United States where the Sixth Amendment could prevent a trial from legally occurring?
The Sixth Amendment of the United States, for those who don’t know, not only ensures US citizens the right to a speedy and public trial, but also guarantees that the trial will be heard before an impartial jury composed of jurors located within the state and district where the crime occurred.
Kalt wondered: Could such a place exist in the US where no eligible jury could be formed, therefore making a valid trial impossible to hold?
Much to his horror, he discovered there is.
On the far western border of Yellowstone National Park, a remote 50 square mile strip of land located within Idaho state lines has been dubbed the “Yellowstone Zone of Death”.
Due to several overlapping loopholes in federal law combined with the remoteness of the region, no eligible jury can ever be formed there. This means no trial could ever legally take place for any crimes committed there.
Any crimes, up to and including murder.
The Law
The United States District Court for the District of Wyoming is currently the only US district court to have jurisdiction over parts of multiple states.
This is due to the fact that its jurisdiction includes all of Yellowstone National Park, which extends slightly beyond Wyoming’s boundaries into Idaho (to the west) and Montana (to the north). In addition, the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over the park, so crimes committed in the park cannot be prosecuted under any state laws:
Trials in the district court are normally held at the federal courthouse in Cheyenne, Wyoming. However, the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution decrees that juries in federal criminal cases must be made up of citizens who are from both the district and state where the crime was committed.
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 jury consisting entirely of residents of that area, and the trial would also have to take place in that area.[6] As the Idaho portion of the park is uninhabited, a jury of residents of both the state and district could not be empaneled. As the Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial, specified three separate times (Article III, Section 2; 6th Amendment; 7th Amendment), a defendant facing any felony or misdemeanor charge, being unable to receive a constitutional trial, could not be legally punished regardless of guilt or innocence.
Wikipedia, Zone of Death (Yellowstone) – Loophole
The Loophole
To break that down a bit, the loophole is caused by several overlapping requirements for federal trials:
- The federal government has sole jurisdiction over all of Yellowstone National Park, meaning all crimes committed within it need to be prosecuted by the federal district courts – i.e., no state can prosecute crimes committed there.
- Yellowstone falls entirely within the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming, even though parts of it extend slightly outside of Wyoming’s borders into Idaho and Montana.
- The Sixth Amendment demands that federal trials be heard by a jury from both the state and district where the crime occurred.
Because of these three requirements, any crime committed in Yellowstone within Idaho’s state borders would need to be tried before residents of Idaho who are also living within with the District of Wyoming. The only place where both of these criteria are met is within a portion of land overlapping both Yellowstone park boundaries and Idaho state lines.
The problem? No one lives in this area. It is entirely uninhabited.
Indeed, the “Zone of Death” is one of the most remote regions in the United States. It contains no residents, no courthouse, no paved roads, not even an outhouse to squat in. The closest human development is Yellowstone’s Bechler ranger station, which serves as a sort of entrance to the area and is located just outside the territory’s far southern boundary.
The “Zone of Death” is 50 square miles of vast, unspoiled wilderness. And without any jurors to serve in court, no trial can legally be held there. Not even for murder.
Raising Awareness
Brian Kalt was understandably upset when he made this realization. In fact, upon his discovery he quickly shifted the subject of his research from the Sixth Amendment to this supposed “Zone of Death” itself. He published his resulting essay in the Georgetown Law Journal in 2005, appropriately calling it “The Perfect Crime”.
Fearing criminals might use the “Zone of Death” to their advantage, Kalt urged the government to fix the issue. His efforts were unfortunately frustrated by a lack of interest:
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, the lawmakers ignored Kalt’s suggestion.
Wikipedia, Zone of Death (Yellowstone) – History
Kalt’s essay did however catch the eye of Wyoming native and author C.J. Box. The fascinating loophole was the perfect backdrop for a mystery thriller, of which Box was a best-selling author. Two years later, in 2007, Box published a novel called ‘Free Fire’, an entry in his “Joe Pickett” series in which a Wyoming game warden is sent to the “Zone of Death” to investigate a series of mass murders committed there.
Box likewise hoped that the success of his novel would spread awareness of the issue and rally the government to address it. Only one lawmaker took notice – Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi. Unfortunately, Enzi was also unable to convince Congress to take any interest in the problem.
Crimes
While no felonies have ever been committed in the “Zone of Death” since Kalt’s publication, a poacher named Michael Belderrain was arrested for illegally shooting an elk in Yellowstone’s Montana extension.
Although that park section is inhabited by enough people to theoretically form a jury, it appears there were problems gathering enough of the area’s sparse population together to serve at once. Additionally, Belderrain (or his lawyer) had heard of Brian Kalt’s paper, and even tried to use it as his legal defense.
Nevertheless, the judge ruled that a fair trial could still be held for Belderrain:
A federal judge ruled that Belderrain could be tried in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming, 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 appeal the Zone of Death issue to the 10th Circuit, rendering the issue moot, at least for the time being.
Wikipedia, Zone of Death (Yellowstone) – History
One wonders if Belderrain committed the crime in the first place thinking he’d find immunity in Kalt’s loophole. Either that, or Belderrain’s lawyer really did his homework.
Public Awareness
Kalt originally feared that his essay would alert criminals to the “Zone of Death”‘s existence. He actually delayed the its publication by one year, hoping to first persuade the government to fix the loophole as soon as possible.
No action was ever taken, but thanks to the internet, fascination on the subject has only grown.
The area now boasts an entry in Atlas Obscura. Vox has a YouTube video covering it with over 3 million views. And a decently-reviewed mockumentary film about the area called ‘Population Zero’ was even released in 2016.
The increased awareness of the “Zone of Death” has likely spurred curious adventurers to hike to it, somewhat ironically increasing the chances that a crime will eventually be committed there.
Coincidentally, a news report in late May 2020 from KSL-TV (a local television station based out of Salt Lake City) details a theory circulating on social media attempting to tie the “Zone of Death” to the disappearance of a teen in Yellowstone. While the theory itself is implausible (people disappear from National Parks under all sorts of circumstances), the spreading awareness of the “Zone of Death” amongst social media users is noteworthy.
Thankfully, the remoteness of the “Zone of Death” has so far made any crime being committed within it highly unlikely. In fact, it’s unlikely we’ll see the government take any action on it until something remarkable does happen there.
Until then… why not consider filing your taxes in the “Zone of Death” next year? Go ahead and fudge the numbers a bit – the charges will never stand up in court.
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