Alabama attorney general says he has right to prosecute people who facilitate travel for out-of-stat

Alabama's law doesn't define abortion as murder. It defines it as a process to terminate a pregnancy that will cause death to the fetus. They're being charged with conspiracy to commit abortion, not conspiracy to commit murder. So why are you okay with that but not charging someone with conspiracy to gamble?

 

1: Second half of your post was already answered.

2: Scuz me for not getting the exact terminology right. Replace "murder" with "abortion". My statement stands despite your nitpicking.

 

Murder is illegal both in Maryland and Idaho so it's not really the same thing.

Let's ask the question another way.

It's illegal to buy a gun in New York, should the New York AG be able to arrest someone who goes to buy a gun in West Virginia where it's legal? Even if that person never brings the gun into New York?

 

But it’s a conspiracy to do something legal
Gambling is illegal where I live, can they charge me for planning a Reno trip to bet on the raiders to win the superbowl?
Sure it could be used in a hearing about my sanity, but not criminal charges.

 

Can they arrest you for conspiring to smoke a joint in another state? What if you travel to Europe and have a beer under the age of 21? Can they arrest you for drinking in another country?

His jurisdiction is for crimes in his state. There are laws all over the world that have different rules. What happens if Alabama law and the laws of another state conflict? Are you stuck in Alabama the rest of your life for fear you'll be arrested in a state where the laws conflict with Alabama?

Alabama cannot criminalize behavior in another state. If your "crime" is legal in the state you are traveling you have not conspired to break any Alabama law because Alabama laws have no jurisdiction in other states.

 

Its not illegal to buy a gun in NY.

 

If it were illegal to buy a gun in NY and someone went to West Virginia to buy a gun, could the AG in NY prosecute even if the gun were never brought into NY?

 

Just recently California passed a law that affects pig farmers across the nation. Did you all holler about it? I know that there were quite a few that supported California in their endeavor to affect how slaughter pigs are treated nationally. And yes, no matter their public reasoning, the goal was to affect pig farmers in other States. Imposing their law on pig farmers in other States.

Additionally did you all know that if you plan to take a trip to another country and do something illegal in the US, but legal in that country, you can still be prosecuted in the US? For instance the US has been known to prosecute those that have sex with minors in other countries. Even when the age of consent made it legal in that other country. Surely you support such a law? LINK: Extraterritorial Sexual Exploitation Of Children (justice.gov) I know I do.

Many of you have argued that if Z is illegal in X State so Y State would naturally prosecute since they consider it illegal also. But that is irrelevant. If it actually mattered then the person would be prosecuted in BOTH states. Not just the one where the planning happened, using their laws as a reason to prosecute. Conspiracy to commit does not require an illegal act. It just requires the planning of what the State considers an illegal act. Yes, that would mean that if a person plans to go to Vegas and gamble while it is completely illegal in the State you planned it in, then that State could prosecute you if they felt so inclined to do so. Does that happen? Nope. For whatever reason (and I'm sure the reasons are myriad) its not generally enforced. Maybe its not simply for the fact that it would require more resources than a prosecutor is willing to spend on such a low level crime. Maybe they are considering the backlash if they were to enforce such. Who knows. But the fact of the matter is that conspiracy to commit is often used across states, using the laws of the State in which the planning occurred. Whether it was illegal or legal in other States is never considered in the prosecution.

I get it, you're opposed to this due to it being about abortion, which many of you consider is a Right. And who knows, prior to California doing what they did with pig farmers across the nation, and it being found Constitutional, I might have objected too at one point. But if we're going to allow the laws of one State to affect how things are done in another State, then I see no reason to object to this. Particularly since its in my favor since I am anti-abortion. What goes around, comes around.

 

You'll have to be more specific. I don't see an answer anywhere, unless you're referring to the false comparison of abortion and murder.

It's not nitpicking. Abortion is not defined legally as murder, and it is a medical procedure that is legal in many states. So there's no real distinction between going after someone for conspiracy to commit abortion vs conspiracy to gamble. As far as I can tell, the main argument in support of the Alabama AG is an emotional one. You can keep trying to conflate it with murdet if you want, but that doesn't solve anything.

 

The fact that even some of the anti-abortion right-wingers on this forum are against this really ought to give you pause.

 

Why should I care? I'm not interested such things. I'm only dealing with the law as is. If you don't like the law, there are ways to get rid of it or change it.

 

Not for me, I don't live there.

But in any case, you're wrong in your view of how the law works. This grandstanding AG is doing this to secure his pro-life credentials so he can win an election. It won't even matter if it's thrown out of court because winning the case isn't his primary motivation, though it certainly wouldn't hurt him if he did. But he won't. Looks like he can count you among his supporters that he's duped with this.

 

And yet, in both your posts to me you have yet to actually debunk what I have said. If I'm so wrong, then why haven't you? So far all you've done is make assertions as to the AG's character and my character and thought I'd care what others think.

 

You must have searched long and hard to collect that load of crap, for the purpose of adding to the distortion on this issue. There are of course wacko people on both sides of most issues, but they hardly represent the mainstream. And so you don't get confused about my position- I favor harsh and prompt penalties for violent crimes, and I support pro-choice.

I never support anyone's right to impose their choices on other people, especially if they have no skin in the game- and the wackos on either side will.

 

I think it’s disturbing that a State AG may believe he can do this. But if I was betting, I would bet he doesn’t but wants the extreme right and evangelical votes.

 

It's not a crime if the "conspiracy" is aiding a legal act. The AG has overstepped his boundries.

 

It's been explained to you already why the AG is wrong. If I were to do so I would just be rehashing what has already been said. Your murder analogy is wrong because murder is illegal everywhere. Find an analogy where something is legal in one state but not another. I'll give you one.

In my state of PA, at least in the past, it was illegal to buy fireworks other than small stuff like sparklers, poppers, etc. Ohio had no such prohibitions. People in my state would routinely drive to Ohio to buy fireworks and then come back to PA with them. It was not a crime to plan a trip to Ohio to buy fireworks that were illegal to sell in PA.

Here's another. Many states have legalized marijuana while others haven't. While it would be a crime to possess marijuana in a state where it is still illegal, I have never heard of a single instance where someone was charged with conspiracy to commit a crime for planning a trip to a weed legal state to buy it just because they lived in a state where it is illegal.

 

Just an FYI, the precedent is already on the books. Look into the conspiracy charges they give people who plan a trip in USA to go to Thailand or any other place to participate in sex crimes there.

 

Just an FYI, the precedent is already on the books. Look into the conspiracy charges they give people who plan a trip in USA to go to Thailand or any other place to participate in sex crimes there.

 

So Thailand is a state?

There have been plenty of Americans who've planned trips to Amsterdam to do drugs. They've never been charged with conspiracy.

 

That isn't a precedent. That is a federal issue.

 

They can't, this AG is gonna get slapped hard. Not only does the State not have jurisdiction outside of its borders, it has no jurisdiction of what you, the individual does outside of the State. That would infringe on freedom and liberty(also found in the 4th Amendment.) and even this SCOTUS has stated on the record that these things won't be up for revision.

This AG is in violation of the Commerce Clause, and of the 4th Amendment of the Constitution. Alabama should have a recall effective immediately ideally.

 

that is the thing, most republicans are pro-choice, it's just the evangelicals in power that are not, and they want to force it on the rest of us

 

Its the conspiracy that takes place in our states that's the point. lol. Irrelevant that the state hasn't done it for drugs, the precedent is with the child sex crimes. Whether they choose to pursue one case vs another is again irrelevant. Not saying I agree with Alabama's decision to do so.

 

Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution is commonly referred to as the Supremacy Clause. It establishes that the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions.