Full question:
I have someone in Texas who has threatened to fly out to Arizona and cause me physical harm. Do I file charges in Arizona or Texas, and where do I file charges?
- Category: Criminal
- Date:
- State: Arizona
Answer:
Typically, the state where the crime occurs has jurisdiction. In some cases, the state where the results occur may also have jurisdiction. Many state legislatures have enacted jurisdictional statutes allowing jurisdiction over crimes as in the Model Penal Code, or extending their jurisdictional reach even further. Most of these statutes track the Model Penal Code’s language, or adopt similar language, to the effect that for the state to exercise jurisdiction over an offense occurring partly outside the state, either an element of the offense, or a result of the offense that is also an element, must occur within the forum state.
The states that have adopted this kind of language include Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah. States that have broadened the Model Penal Code approach by also allowing jurisdiction where a result of the offense, whether an element or not, occurs in the forum state, are: Arizona, Kansas, New York, and Missouri.
In State v Miller, 157 Ariz 129, 130 (Ariz Ct App 1988), the Arizona Court of Appeals explained that Arizona's jurisdictional statute is broader than the Model Penal Code. While the Model Penal Code would allow jurisdiction only when a result that is an element of the offense occurs in the forum state, Arizona's statute would allow jurisdiction where the conduct constituting the element of the offenses occurred outside the state, but the result of that conduct occurred within the state.
I suggest contacting the local police department or attorney general's office in both Arizona and Texas to determine what resources are available.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
