NCJ Number
106285
Date Published
1985
Length
169 pages
Annotation
A panel of representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Justice Department, the State Department, and the U.S. Customs Service testifies before the House Subcommittee on Crime on H.R. 2132, which amends Public Law 96-350 to further define the customs waters for the purposes of certain drug offenses.
Abstract
Public Law 96-350 provides that U.S. jurisdiction extends to 'customs waters,' defined to include waters which are the subject of a treaty or 'other arrangement' permitting the United States to board and take other enforcement action on vessels whose flag nations have entered into such agreements with the United States. The Coast Guard and Justice Department consider that an 'arrangement' exists any time another nation gives the U.S. Government permission to board one of its vessels. Several cases based on telephonically obtained permission from other nations have been thrown out by judges in the U.S. District Court for South Florida, where most of the cases are brought. H.R. 2132 specifies that such communication does constitute an 'arrangement' between the United States and the flag nation of a given ship. Witnesses support this legislation with some recommendations for additions, including the specification that the issue of jurisdiction in a given case is a question of law rather than an issue to be determined by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Witnesses' written statements are included.