Criminal Jurisdiction Act
113th Congress
1st Session
S. ____
To retroactively repeal certain unconstitutional legislation concerning firearms.
IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE
January 25, 2013
Mr. ROLAND of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Judiciary Committee.
A BILL
To define the territorial boundaries of United States penal legislation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
- This Act may be cited as the 'Criminal Jurisdiction Act of 2013'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND AUTHORITY.
1. The Congress finds that certain legislation concerning crimes, to be and to have been unconstitutionally applied to exclusively state territory, and that the territorial boundaries of penal jurisdiction needs to be defined.
2. The authority for this act is the United States Constitution, Article I, Section 1, and Article III Section 2 Clause 2 and 3.
SEC. 3. ENACTMENT AND REPEALS.
1. With the following exceptions, all criminal or penal statutes shall apply, if at all, only to acts committed on territory outside the exclusive jurisdiction of the states, which state jurisdiction excludes enclaves created under United States Constituton Article I Section 8 Clause 17.
a. Treason, but only as defined below;
b. Counterfeiting, but only applicable to offenses committed on U.S. soil;
c. Piracy, but only as defined below;
d. Felony on the high seas, also applicable to international commons and airspace;
e. Offences against the law of nations, but only as of 1787;
f. Violation of military or militia discipline.
g. Enslavement;
h. Violation of rights by a state agent;
i. Deprivation of the privilege of voting on any of the grounds barred by amendments to the United States Constitution.
3. "Piracy" shall consist only of warlike acts committed by a nonstate actor against persons or property of a country foreign to him. Letters of marque and reprisal make the person to whom they are issued a state actor, and under a declaration of war all citizens are to be regarded as state actors with respect to the foreign state defined in the declaration. The territorial jurisdiction for piracy is unlimited.
4. The territorial jurisdiction for offenses against the law of nations is unlimited.
5. The territorial jurisdiction for treason is unlimited, but personal jurisdiction is limited to citizens of the United States.
6. "Counterfeiting" is only applicable to tokens of lesser value than the things they closely resemble.
7. The territorial jurisdiction of any crime shall be deemed to be that of the time and place where it was commited, which shall be at the concurrence of mens rea and actus reus, not where harm was caused.
8. The following statutes or codes are hereby amended retroactively to their respective dates of enactment to make clear the territorial limits on their applicability:
...
SEC. 4. REMEDIATION.
- (a) CONVICTIONS TO BE SET ASIDE — Any person convicted for offenses committed on exclusively state territory under any of the above amended provisions shall have the right to have his or her convictions set aside, and any continuing disabilities removed, upon application therefor to any U.S. Court of competent jurisdiction.
- (b) COMPENSATION FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTION — Any person convicted under any of the above amended provisions shall be entitled to receive compensation at established rates for wrongful conviction, including any attorney fees and court costs.
SEC. 5. JURISDICTION BOUNDARIES.
1. Within 180 days of the enactment hereof, the Secretaries of State, of the Interior, and the Attorney General of the United States, shall report to Congress on a complete inventory of all enclaves properly created under United States Constitution Article I Section 8 Clause 17, excluding any that were not properly ceded by act of a state legislature that specified the metes and bounds of the parcel.
2. All enclaves not ceded by a state legislative act that specified the metes and bounds shall be deemed to have been retroceded to the state, unless the state shall correct its cession with a metes and bounds description within 180 days of receipt of the inventory report.
3. Within one year of receipt of the inventory report, the boundaries of all such federal enclaves shall be clearly marked with signs, monuments, fences, painted lines, or other marks that inform any person crossing the boundary of which jurisdiction lies on each side of the line.
4. A sufficient amount is hereby authorized to pay the costs of marking the boundaries, to be determined by appropriation, but the lack of funding shall not bar implementation.
5. All residents of enclaves properly created under United States Constitution Article I Section 8 Clause 17 shall be deemed to remain, or revert back to being, citizens of the ceding state for all purposes, including elections of members of Congress and electors for United States President.
END.
