The Wall Street Journal Law Blog today reports on the federal prosecution of Somali pirates and the difficult question of who is a pirate.
The challenge of prosecuting modern day criminal activity with relatively ancient statutes is not for the faint of heart. That being said, as pointed out last year in my post, there are prosecutorial options.
The exercise of criminal jurisdiction over extraterritorial crimes is not unprecedented. As the Maersk Alabama complaint noted, the United States successfully asserted jurisdiction over Ramzi Yousef, Osama Bin Laden (tried in absentia) and Shi Lei. The Ninth Circuit decision in Shi Lei is the only reported case interpreting the Violence Against Maritime Navigation statute. [Disclosure: while serving as a Coast Guard JAG, I was a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and worked on the Shi Lei case].
As my Op-Ed on piracy and U.S. legal systems (here) notes, the U.S. legal system does have the tools it needs to protect American shipping interests.
Comments