Jurisdictional Issues within the Criminal Justice System

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Within the United States’ Criminal Justice System, problems pertaining to jurisdiction issues are quite common due several reasons. The United States v. Thomas J. L Smiley case and the United States v. Jared Lee Loughner case both had jurisdiction issues. Smiley and several other men obtained permission through a license from Mexico to search for treasure on an expedition; the treasure belonged to the steamer Golden Gate, which belonged to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company located within the United States. Ultimately, federal charges were brought upon him from the United States for violating a statue regarding plundering a sunken and/or abandoned ship. In contrast, Loughner had federal charges brought upon him by the United States due to his act a shooting, which resulted in the injuries and deaths of federal officials and employees. Furthermore, both cases involve jurisdiction issues involving the fairest of the trials and the location of the alleged crime; however, they both differ due to the circumstances and nature of the alleged crimes. The defendant within the United States v. Jared Lee Lougher case was charged in federal court with the attempted assignation and attempted murder of federal employees, which came as a result of his shooting spree at the Safeway Supermarket, located in Tucson, Arizona. The shooting occurred on January 8th of 2011 and resulted in the deaths of six individuals and the injury of 13 individuals; the alleged target of the attack was said to be “[Representative] Gabrielle Giffords,” whom was among the injured (Audi, 2011). In addition, among the injured was “Federal Judge John Roll and Giffords aide Gabriel Zimmerman” (Audi, 2011). Furthermore, due to Judge John Roll being a federal judge, Loughner... ... middle of paper ... ... Amendment. (n.d) retrieved February 17 2014, from Cornell University of Law Web Site: http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/fifth_amendment Koppel, N & Ashby Jones (2011, January, 12). Early Legal Issue: Where to Try Case. retrieved February 2 2014, from Wall Street Journal Web Site: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405274870451590457607624427344507 The United States v. Thomas J.L. Smiley et al.. (n.d) retrieved 1 February 2012, from Google Books Web Site: 864&source=bl&ots=a6G2s0it1&sig=PUKnNWHjx_pm15CnDD1s_1wnhbQ&hl=en&ei=XDQ_TfaqOoL2gAeh3O36Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=United%20States%20v.%20Smiley%201864&f=false United States v. Smiley, et al.. (n.d) retrieved February 17 2014, from NOAA Coastal Services Center Web Site: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/data/Documents/OceanLawSearch/U.S.v.Smiley_CaseSummary_PDF.pdf

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