who has jurisdiction while "in between" state borders?

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Ooo... what if I take someone, stake them out over four corners with their heart directly positioned over where the four states meet and drive a stake right through my victim's heart?*


[size=-2]*If you actually see this happen in real life it wasn't me.[/size]

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Ooo... what if I take someone, stake them out over four corners with their heart directly positioned over where the four states meet and drive a stake right through my victim's heart?*


[size=-2]*If you actually see this happen in real life it wasn't me.[/size]

easy. draw the outline over the corpse and do some calculus to determine which state has the most area.

 

[zinfamous]

Water belongs to the US government. The riverbed belongs to whatever state has jurisdiction. That'll vary depending on locale.

Oh.

I see that you are taking OP seriously.

carry on.

 

[MotF Bane]

A ticket from NY, a ticket from NJ, a ticket from Port Authority.

Everybody wins.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

They can keep pursuing you across state and county lines. It's a myth that they must stop at the line.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Okay, so what if you're standing right on the border, left leg in one state, right leg in another state, and you're holding a gun so that it's positioned directly above the border, and you shoot someone standing on the border. Which state has jurisdiction?

Both. Or either.

Or, what if you're standing in NY, and shoot someone who is standing in Pennsylvania? In which state did you commit the crime?

Which crime? NY could prosecute for unlawful discharge of a firearm while PA could prosecute for murder (assuming the person died and the shot was intentional, or homicide if the death wasn't intentional) or assault with a deadly weapon (assuming the person lived). Depending on the amount of premeditation and whether you were working with anyone, NY might be able to charge you with conspiracy to commit murder as well.

Oh, and to the OP - if you were speeding in NJ, and then speeding in NY, I wonder if BOTH states can give you a ticket?

Yes, in theory. As a practical matter, this would probably only happen with speed cameras since it's not likely that both police officers would simultaneously pull you over.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Water belongs to the US government. The riverbed belongs to whatever state has jurisdiction. That'll vary depending on locale.

I was under the impression that navigable waterways were a sort of complex "joint ownership" between states and the federal government. I mean, states have the authority to enforce certain safety regulations for navigable waterways within their borders so federal jurisdiction over navigable waterways can't be exclusive in all areas.

Then again, I'm probably over-thinking the issue since your comment is more than sufficient given the context of the thread.

ZV

 

[The Boston Dangler]

true story about police jurisdiction:

many years ago, i was driving a POS vw jetta when it came down with a bit of fire. i stopped immediately, grabbed my cd's, and called 911. "i'm on the border of this town and that town, right next to the railroad crossing." police and fire dept from both towns show up and put out my car. i ask a cop which town is doing the paperwork and he says "well, the fire started over there, so it would be them". i turn around and the other town's fire and police have vanished. i turn back and my town's police and fire have also vanished.

 

[nanette1985]

if i speed while crossing one of the bridges/tunnels connecting NY and NJ, who has the authority to pull me over? the PA police?

Yes - though there are agreements with other law enforcement groups (state, local, etc). Lots of people can pull you over. But it'll most likely be the Port Authority gang.

looking at google maps, it appears the state border is the midway point of the hudson river, but how will they make the determination of which state i'm in?

they don't need to determine which state. the Port Authority has jurisdiction over a huge portion of NY/NJ.

And yes, if you're on a bridge or tunnel there are markers marking the border. When you're inching through rush-hour traffic looking for the border signs give you something to do.

Since you mentioned the Lincoln Tunnel, if you get a speeding ticket there you need to appear in court in Weehawken in person to deal with the ticket.

There are several notorious speed traps over there, most notably before and after the helix. Oh yes, you can speed - though not at rush hour

 

[dank69]

The Taliban

 

[KGB]

Okay, so what if you're standing right on the border, left leg in one state, right leg in another state, and you're holding a gun so that it's positioned directly above the border, and you shoot someone standing on the border. Which state has jurisdiction?

Or, what if you're standing in NY, and shoot someone who is standing in Pennsylvania? In which state did you commit the crime?


Oh, and to the OP - if you were speeding in NJ, and then speeding in NY, I wonder if BOTH states can give you a ticket?

It depends on which side of the state line the body falls.

 

[zzuupp]

I was under the impression that navigable waterways were a sort of complex "joint ownership" between states and the federal government. I mean, states have the authority to enforce certain safety regulations for navigable waterways within their borders so federal jurisdiction over navigable waterways can't be exclusive in all areas.

Then again, I'm probably over-thinking the issue since your comment is more than sufficient given the context of the thread.

ZV

It depends. Around here, the border is usually the high tide line on one side.

For example, the Potomac River ( and the bridge above it) fall into DC or Maryland, not Virginia.

 

[Meghan54]

I was under the impression that navigable waterways were a sort of complex "joint ownership" between states and the federal government. I mean, states have the authority to enforce certain safety regulations for navigable waterways within their borders so federal jurisdiction over navigable waterways can't be exclusive in all areas.

Then again, I'm probably over-thinking the issue since your comment is more than sufficient given the context of the thread.

ZV

Actually, you're not overthinking it. And not every body of water is under Federal jurisdiction, btw, just most of them.

But take my usual lake I boat/fish upon, Clark's Hill just above Augusta, GA. The reservoir straddles GA and SC. There are DNR officers from both states that cruise/patrol the lake and both states' officers can pull your boat over anywhere on the lake. If you're way into the GA side, the SC officer will just radio for the GA DNR. Simple.

As for Federal authorities, while most waterways do fall under their jurisdiction, they do indeed share the load, so to speak, with the state officers and the state officers have as much jurisdiction on waters within their states as do the Feds.

You'll see the Feds more on bigger waterways, like busy bays (SF Bay for example) or rivers (the Mississippi for example). You don't see many Feds on smaller rivers like the Oconee in GA.