Source: valawyersweekly.com 12/11/25
Where the district court did not evaluate each element of a three-part test when it concluded that a prison was part of the special territorial jurisdiction of the United States, the defendant’s conviction was vacated.
Background
After a bench trial, the district court convicted Jesse Perez of producing and possessing child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1466A at the Federal Correctional Institution in Petersburg, Virginia. The district court determined Perez “committed [his offense] in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States” because FCI Petersburg is within federal territorial jurisdiction.
Analysis
According to Perez, the government must prove to the factfinder— beyond a reasonable doubt—that FCI Petersburg is within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. According to the government, it must only prove to the factfinder that Perez’s conduct occurred at FCI Petersburg; the court decides whether FCI Petersburg is within federal territorial jurisdiction as a matter of law.
The government is correct. To be sure, the government must prove to the factfinder that the defendant committed the offense at a particular location. But that location’s jurisdictional status is a legal question for the court. Related to that, the facts underlying that determination are legislative in nature. Thus, a court can judicially notice those facts to inform its legal determination about the jurisdictional status of a particular location.
Even though a location’s jurisdictional status is a question of law for a court, facts underlie that determination. To explain, recall that land falls within the special territorial jurisdiction of the United States when (1) the federal government acquires the land; (2) the state consents to federal, or cedes its own, jurisdiction and (3) the federal government accepts jurisdiction.
Resolving these questions requires consideration of facts. And at first blush, one might naturally think all facts should be decided by the factfinder. After all, “[q]uestions of law are to be determined by the court; questions of fact, by the jury.” But recognizing that facts are involved does not necessarily mean that the factfinder must decide them. That’s because there are two kinds of facts…