Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness poised the question of whether any state on Earth 838 could prosecute the Scarlet Witch from Earth 616? In the movie, Wanda 616 used the body of Wanda 838 to murder all but one member of the Illuminati. Murder is a crime in New York state (NY Penal Law § 125.27). Additionally, Wanda 616 imprisoned Wanda 838 in a mental purgatory and used Wanda 838’s body to travel from New Jersey to New York. New Jersey has an interested in prosecuting Wanda 616 for both False Imprisonment (N.J.S. § 2C:13-3) and Kidnapping (N.J.S. § 2C:13-1), even though it would be a very new application of the law for possession by a person from another universe.
Putting aside the big question of traveling between parallel universes, what is the legal theory for “universal jurisdiction” for prosecuting Wanda 616?
Universal Jurisdiction
The challenge with “Universal Jurisdiction” is that it applies to piracy. Case law states:
“[P]iracy has for centuries been considered a universal jurisdiction crime based on international agreement, and, unlike the case with respect to modern universal jurisdiction crimes, there is little debate that all nations have authority to capture and punish any pirate.”
`The pirate is a sea brigand. He has no right to any flag and is justiciable by all.’ (quoting 2 John Bassett Moore, Digest of International Law 953 (1906)).
U.S. v. Hasan, 747 F. Supp. 2d 599, 611 (E.D. Va. 2010), citing Yousef, 327 F.3d at 104; In re Piracy Jure Gentium, [1934] A.C. 586, 595 (1934).
While aptly named, Universal Jurisdiction can’t cast a spell on Wanda 616.
Territorial Jurisdiction
The legal theory for prosecuting Wanda 616 is “Territorial Jurisdiction.” This jurisdiction is a court’s power over individuals for actions in a state.
New Jersey’s Territorial Jurisdiction states:
a. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person may be convicted under the law of this State of an offense committed by his own conduct or the conduct of another for which he is legally accountable if:
(1) Either the conduct which is an element of the offense or the result which is such an element occurs within this State;
(2) Conduct occurring outside the State is sufficient under the law of this State to constitute an attempt to commit a crime within the State;
N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-3
New York’s Territorial Jurisdiction states:
[A] person may be convicted in the criminal courts of this state of an offense defined by the laws of this state, committed either by his own conduct or by the conduct of another for which he is legally accountable pursuant to section 20.00 of the penal law, when:
1. Conduct occurred within this state sufficient to establish:
(a) An element of such offense; or
(b) An attempt to commit such offense;
N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 20.20
Territorial Jurisdiction is the way New Jersey 838 and New York 838 could prosecute the Scarlet Witch, because she committed crimes within each state. Granted, serving the arrest warrant is rather problematic, but the science would eventually catch up to the law since Valeria and Franklin Richards would be pretty upset about their father’s murder.