# Can a state punish you for doing something that is legal in another state but not in their state? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680 "2019-05-08T19:50:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/1 "2019-05-08T19:50:34Z")
For example, let’s say State-A passes a law making plucking your eyebrows illegal. So, you go to State-B next door where eyebrow plucking is perfectly legal and you have your eyebrows plucked there. Can State-A arrest you upon returning for having your eyebrows plucked? Can State-A arrest the person who drove you since that person abetted your crime? Or rather, can State-A expect these prosecutions to hold up on appeal? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/2 "2019-05-08T20:05:24Z")
Don’t think so. I’ve had some good strong beer in many states, and Utah never prosecuted me for doing so, despite its laws placing strict limits on the alcohol content of beer sold within Utah AFAIK, one state doesn’t have jurisdiction over what you do in another state. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/3 "2019-05-08T20:08:17Z")
Is this about pot? I don’t think State A can prosecute you for buying weed in State B; but they can prosecute you for possessing weed or driving while impaired. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/4 "2019-05-08T20:10:49Z")
They might not be able to arrest you for what you did in another state, but they could criminalize things done in their own state. For instance, they might pass a law that says that it’s illegal to leave the state for the purpose of eyebrow-plucking, or to make an appointment for eyebrow-plucking. Real-world example, there are US laws against traveling abroad for the purpose of having sex with minors. Even if you find some country where it’s legal, the US can still arrest you. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/5 "2019-05-08T20:14:26Z")
The US does prosecute citizens and residents for international sex tourism. > **[Child sex tourism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sex_tourism)** > > Child sex tourism (CST) is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, which is commercially facilitated child sexual abuse. The definition of child in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is "every human being below the age of 18 years". Child sex tourism results in both mental and physical consequences for the exploited children, which may include sexually transmitted infections (including HIV/AIDS), "drug addiction, pregnancy, malnutrition, so Use... ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/6 "2019-05-08T20:18:32Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > Is this about pot? No, although that works too. This is about Georgia passing a new abortion law which would (among other things) punish women who get an abortion out of state. > [@](#): > > Even women who seek lawful abortions out of state may not escape punishment. If a Georgia resident plans to travel elsewhere to obtain an abortion, she may be charged with conspiracy to commit murder, punishable by 10 years’ imprisonment. An individual who helps a woman plan her trip to get an out-of-state abortion, or transports her to the clinic, may also be charged with conspiracy. These individuals, after all, are “conspiring” to end of the life of a “person” with “full legal recognition” under Georgia law. > > SOURCE: [HB 481: Georgia law criminalizes abortion, subjects women to life in prison.](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/hb-481-georgia-law-criminalizes-abortion-subjects-women-to-life-in-prison.html) ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/7 "2019-05-08T20:19:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > They might not be able to arrest you for what you did in another state, but they could criminalize things done in their own state. For instance, they might pass a law that says that it’s illegal to leave the state for the purpose of eyebrow-plucking, or to make an appointment for eyebrow-plucking. > > Real-world example, there are US laws against traveling abroad for the purpose of having sex with minors. Even if you find some country where it’s legal, the US can still arrest you. Can they do that, though? Pass a law that says “it’s illegal to leave the state for the purpose of eyebrow-plucking, or to make an appointment for eyebrow-plucking”, that is. There are _ **US** _ laws against “sex tourism”, but are there any precedents for an American _ **state** _ government seeking to apply that kind of jurisdiction, and would it even be legal/constitutional for an American _ **state** _ government to try to do so? (Especially for travel from one American state to another, to do something that is legal under the laws of the other American state.) ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/8 "2019-05-08T20:19:24Z")
That sex-tourism example is a good one, and well within the federal government’s aegis. But let’s say that the great state of East Dakota outlawed eyebrow-plucking even while it remained legal in both South Dakota and at the federal level. If East Dakota passed a law criminalizing leaving the state for eyebrow-plucking purposes, wouldn’t that violate the Constitution’s interstate commerce clause? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/9 "2019-05-08T20:19:46Z")
I’m trying to remember how things were in the bad old days before _Roe v. Wade_ when women with enough money would travel someplace like New York where it was legal to get an abortion then go back home to Kansas or Georgia or wherever… I know women who did exactly that. Can’t recall whether they had concerns about being arrested back home or not. ---
**Author:** ![SingleMalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/singlemalt/32/3961_2.png) [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/10 "2019-05-08T20:21:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > They might not be able to arrest you for what you did in another state, but they could criminalize things done in their own state. For instance, they might pass a law that says that it’s illegal to leave the state for the purpose of eyebrow-plucking, or to make an appointment for eyebrow-plucking. > > Real-world example, there are US laws against traveling abroad for the purpose of having sex with minors. Even if you find some country where it’s legal, the US can still arrest you. I’m curious about an answer as well, but this example is of a Federal law, which over-arches state laws. Could Nevada pass a state law that would prosecute a person for traveling to Arizona for the purpose of eyebrow-plucking? Assuming there is no over-arching Federal law. Wow. Severely ninja’d. ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/11 "2019-05-08T20:30:36Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > This is about Georgia passing a new abortion law which would (among other things) punish women who get an abortion out of state. The linked Slate article mentions that the law in question makes fetuses full individual people, and in doing so raises a huge issue: any woman who’s pregnant and in jail is carrying a full legal person inside of her, so by putting her in jail they’re imprisoning one wholly innocent person along with another, potentially non-innocent person—and without due process for the fetus. I suspect this law wasn’t fully thought through on a number of levels. Again, I invite any lurking constitutional scholars (I’m looking at you, President Obama!) to weigh in on the commerce-clause issue I and others have asked about. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/12 "2019-05-08T20:41:15Z")
> [@EdelweissPirate](#): > > The linked Slate article mentions that the law in question makes fetuses full individual people, and in doing so raises a huge issue: any woman who’s pregnant and in jail is carrying a full legal person inside of her, so by putting her in jail they’re imprisoning one wholly innocent person along with another, potentially non-innocent person—and without due process for the fetus. That problem is discussed in the article too. ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/13 "2019-05-08T20:51:27Z")
Yes. That’s what I said. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/14 "2019-05-08T21:07:19Z")
[Moderating] A reminder that this thread is about one particular question, of laws between different states. The Georgia abortion law in general is already under discussion in GD, which is where that discussion belongs. If a post can’t apply to the hypothetical eyebrow-plucking law, then it’s probably not a good fit for this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/15 "2019-05-08T21:29:09Z")
What about cases where a teenage couple cross a state line to take advantage of a lower age of consent? Both are willing, and of legal age in the state where the deed takes place. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/16 "2019-05-08T21:52:08Z")
I would think it would really depend on the law. If the law says that it in not legal to pluck one’s own or another person’s eyebrows in the state of East Dakota, then going to Minnesota to get your eyebrows plucked would be perfectly legal, provided Minnesota has not outlawed eyebrow plucking. Even if Minnesota had outlawed eyebrow plucking, the state of East Dakota couldn’t do anything about your getting your eyebrows plucked in Minnesota other than inform Minnesota law enforcement that they believe there are people violating their eyebrow plucking law. If the law says that all people in the state of East Dakota must have un-plucked eyebrows, that would be different. But, eyebrow hairs, like all hairs, fall out on their own, and I suspect that there are some conditions that can make a person’s eyebrows fall out naturally, so it might be difficult to craft such a law–that is, everyone has plucked eyebrows to one extent or another. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/17 "2019-05-08T21:55:43Z")
I had a long post eaten by gerbils. Short answer is that in [Bigelow v. Virginia](https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4759538477634429547&q=bigelow+v.+virginia&hl=en&as_sdt=20006), the Supreme Court said that State A can’t arrest a person for what happens in State B. Bigelow concerned New York abortion clinics advertising for clients in a Virginia newspaper. Virginia outlawed abortion ads. The court said that the ban was a violation of the first amendment, but it also said: > [@](#): > > Moreover, the placement services advertised in appellant’s newspaper were legally provided in New York at that time.[8] The Virginia Legislature could not have regulated the advertiser’s activity in New York, and obviously could not have proscribed the activity in that State.[9] Huntington v. Attrill, 146 U. S. 657, 669 (1892). Neither could Virginia prevent its residents from traveling to New York to obtain those services or, as the State conceded, Tr. of Oral Arg. 29, prosecute them for going there. See United States v. Guest, 383 U. S. 745, 757-759 (1966); Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U. S. 618, 629-631 (1969); Doe v. Bolton, 410 U. S., at 200. Virginia possessed no authority to regulate the services provided in New York—the skills and credentials of the New York physicians and of the New York professionals who assisted them, the standards of the New York hospitals and clinics to which patients were referred, or the practices and charges of the New York referral services. > > A State does not acquire power or supervision over the internal affairs of another State merely because the welfare and health of its own citizens may be affected when they travel to that State. It may seek to disseminate information so as to enable its citizens to make better informed decisions when they leave. But it may not, under the guise of exercising internal police powers, bar a citizen of another State from disseminating information about an activity that is legal in that State. [emphasis added] There is a theory that the state can regulate conspiring within its border to travel to State B for these purposes but I disagree. However, it’s really hard to predict what motivated reasoning will lead the Supreme Court to endorse when they hate plucked eyebrows so much. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/18 "2019-05-08T21:56:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > They might not be able to arrest you for what you did in another state, but they could criminalize things done in their own state. For instance, they might pass a law that says that it’s illegal to leave the state for the purpose of eyebrow-plucking, or to make an appointment for eyebrow-plucking. > > Real-world example, there are US laws against traveling abroad for the purpose of having sex with minors. Even if you find some country where it’s legal, the US can still arrest you. Does this come down to a matter of intention? Suppose you were in another state and you incidentally decide on a whim to get those eyebrows plucked, but you didn’t travel out of state for that specific purpose, does that still count? ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/19 "2019-05-08T22:31:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > [Moderating] > > A reminder that this thread is about one particular question, of laws between different states. The Georgia abortion law in general is already under discussion in GD, which is where that discussion belongs. If a post can’t apply to the hypothetical eyebrow-plucking law, then it’s probably not a good fit for this thread. I only mentioned that point in the Slate article because, if the Georgia law wasn’t very well-thought-out with in one way (due process) it might not be well-thought-out with regard to the commerce clause either—and the applicability of the commerce clause is still an outstanding question (at least for me). In retrospect, maybe I could have raised that point without going into the somewhat-charged details of Georgia’s law. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680/20 "2019-05-08T22:36:47Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Does this come down to a matter of intention? Suppose you were in another state and you incidentally decide on a whim to get those eyebrows plucked, but you didn’t travel out of state for that specific purpose, does that still count? That would make for a creative defense against the international sex tourism laws mentioned previously: “No, your honor, when I left the country I had no intention of having sex with a minor. Once I got to \_\_\_\_\_ (I don’t even know where people go for that sort of thing - Thailand maybe?) I decided on a whim that I wanted to have sex with a minor.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-state-punish-you-for-doing-something-that-is-legal-in-another-state-but-not-in-their-state/833680.md?page=2)