Believe it or not, that’s a description of a forthcoming law review article. Yes, a law review article. Check out The Perfect Crime, by law prof Brian C. Kalt, forthcoming in the Georgetown Law Journal. It clocks in at 22 amusing double-spaced pages, and raises an interesting set of questions about a possible gap between constitutional and statutory protections in Yellowstone National Park that may allow someone to commit “the perfect crime.” Whether you agree or disagree with the argument, it’s a very good read. Here is the introduction:
You may have daydreamed about it: some forgotten constitutional provision, combined with an obscure statute, that together make it possible for people in the know to commit crimes with impunity. Whether you were looking for opportunities to commit crimes or afraid that somebody else was, the possibility of a constitutional “perfect crime” was too compelling to ignore. This Essay represents the fruits of my own daydreams, combined with the fact that lately I have spent my lucid moments mulling over one particular forgotten constitutional provision: the Sixth Amendment’s vicinage requirement.
The courts may or may not agree that my loophole exists, and in any case this Essay is not intended to inspire anyone to go out and commit crimes. Crime is bad, after all. But so is violating the Constitution. If the loophole described in this Essay does exist it should be closed, not ignored.
You can dowload the paper here.
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