WASHINGTON —
A Washington, D.C., judge ordered a man to stay out of the District of Columbia as a condition of his release from jail this week. Rives Miller Grogan was arrested for climbing a tree near the Capitol as part of a protest during President Obama's inauguration. Can you be banished from a state?
Probably not. Sixteen states have constitutional provisions prohibiting banishment, and appeals courts in many others have outlawed the practice. Although it remains on the books in a handful of states - the Tennessee Constitution permits exile, and Maryland's Constitution specifically prescribes banishment as a punishment for corruption - appeals courts usually overturn sentences of exile. There has been only one recent case of banishment from a state: In 2000, a Kentucky judge banished a domestic abuser from the state for one year. (The case never reached the state's high court.) The District of Columbia has no constitution, and its statutes don't mention banishment, so the legality of Grogan's exile is unclear. Judges typically get wider discretion in prescribing conditions of bail than in sentencing, but there is a strong trend toward invalidating interstate banishment under any circumstances.
In the view of many legal scholars, the permissibility of banishment depends on its geographic breadth. Banishment from the country is decidedly unconstitutional, at least for U.S. citizens. Chief Justice Earl Warren described denationalization of army deserters as "a form of punishment more primitive than torture." Banishment from areas around schools or day care facilities, however, is an increasingly popular punishment for sex crimes. Gang members are occasionally banished from their home towns to keep them from bad influences. Appeals courts sometimes approve these sanctions as long as they don't result in a functional banishment. For example, a Georgia law prohibiting sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a bus stop was declared unconstitutional in 2007. Legislators made clear that they intended to exile sex offenders from the state, and the restrictions left virtually nowhere to live.
There are several arguments against interstate banishment: It's cruel and unusual punishment; it takes away a citizen's right to travel; and it's arguably a form of double jeopardy. The more practical concern is that it could lead to a dance of the lemons, as each state tries to turn its neighbor into a prison colony, thereby avoiding the expense of imprisonment.
That's exactly what happened in the early days of English settlement in North America. Great Britain exiled as many as 50,000 convicts to the New World prior to U.S. independence. The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony also sent their undesirables away. In their first year, the Puritans banished up to 10 people, or 1 percent of their population, and continued to cast people off for decades, until the crown ordered them to stop.
The Puritans employed banishment for all sorts of crimes. Adultery, sodomy and bestiality often resulted in exile. A Capt. Stone was sent away for telling a magistrate that he was more a "just ass" than a justice. The Puritans also banished religious heretics, including Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams, who went on to found Rhode Island. Hutchinson and other heretics were never charged with heresy, per se, but with crimes such as disturbing the peace because the Puritans feared King Charles I wouldn't allow them to banish people for minor religious disagreements.
Rives Miller Grogan, the protester exiled from D.C. on Tuesday, was charged under laws that require D.C. authorities to "preserve the peace and secure the Capitol from defacement."
Got a question about today's news? ask-the-explainer@yahoo.com.
Online Only
Slate's Explainer: Can states exile people?
- Online Only
-
-
Staying safe during your Memorial Day cookout
When you dust off the grill for your first cookout of the summer, take these steps to avoid foodborne illess.
-
Try something new: Spinach and prosciutto salad
This isn't Mom's bacon-dressed spinach salad. The bacon has been replaced with a leaner, lighter and sweeter cured-pork product: prosciutto from Parma.
-
Kebabs: Health kick on a stick
Grilling is a simple way to feed your family well this summer. Start with a lean meat and a healthful marinade and then allow the grill to strip away additional fat for a heart-healthy and waist-friendly final result. Plus, grilling caramelizes the natural sugars in foods, which adds flavor without additional calories and fat.
-
Flags become symbols of hope, unity in tornado-damaged Oklahoma
The first thing Kevin Gibson did after returning to his house, torn apart by a powerful tornado Monday, was pull an American flag and a temporary flagpole from the corner of his partially standing garage.
-
Expert: Schools need shelters
Ninety-four percent of Oklahoma schools do not have tornado shelters, according to Gov. Mary Fallin, even though at least one weather expert says they should be standard. With two Moore schools destroyed in Monday’s EF-5 tornado — and ...
-
Twitter introduces website security tool after AP account hacked
Twitter is adding a new security tool to its website, making it harder for outsiders to gain access to accounts, a month after a false posting triggered a stock-market decline.
-
Mom delivered baby as tornado struck
Shayla Taylor was so far along in labor that her nurses at Moore Medical Center decided not to move her when Monday's tornado hit. They waited out the storm in an operating room, where the wall disappeared as the tornado hit the building.
-
TIMELAPSE: Take a tour through the damage in Moore
Take a driving tour of the damage in Moore caused by Monday's tornado.
-
Okla. officials vow not to quit looking until everyone is found
The tornado that killed 24 people and injured at least 100 others in the Moore and Oklahoma City area cut a 17-mile-long path that started in Newcastle and ended at Lake Stanley Draper. Nine of the dead are children.
-
VIDEO: Orlando shootout tied to Boston bomb suspect
The FBI says it was involved in a fatal shooting near Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. CBS News senior correspondent John Miller reports that the victim was a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother suspected in the Boston Marathon bombing.
- More Online Only Headlines
-
Raw: Train Derails After Overpass Collapse
Raw: Rescues From San Antonio Flooding
Raw: French Soldier Stabbed in Throat Near Paris
Mayor: Person Killed in San Antonio Flooding
Raw: Apple 1 Computer Sells for More Than $650k
Hagel Urges Cadets to End Scourge of Sex Assault
Raw: Gay Rights Activists March in Ukraine
Bus Fire Kills 16 Children, Teacher in Pakistan
Raw: Pakistan Election Results Protested
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
