Criminal Behavior Linked To Locale
By Amy E. Feldman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Does what happens in Vegas really stay in Vegas, or can you face criminal charges when you get home for what you did on your vacation?
The New Jersey Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether two chaperones on a New Jersey high school trip to Germany should faces charges back here in the US for the illicit encounters they were alleged to have had with the students they were "supervising".
Their lawyers argue that all of the conduct was alleged to have happened in Germany and that New Jersey has no authority to prosecute the men for actions that didn't take place in the state.
So, does what happens in Vegas - or Colorado where recreational marijuana use is legal, for example - really stay in Germany, Vegas, or Colorado or can you be prosecuted once you get home?
Well the Court hasn't decided yet but, in general, a crime must be prosecuted where it happens. If the New Jersey chaperones continued relationships upon their return, there will be consequences. If not, it will be hard to prosecute them.
But remember Vegas and Colorado do have laws, so just because you can do some things there you can't do in your home state doesn't mean you can't be arrested there for drunk driving, assault, or other reckless or stupid things you do.
And, if you should consider bringing home gifts which were legal to buy there but illegal to smoke here, you'll be prosecuted because you're the reason that what happened there didn't stay there.
