Opinion ID: 1037569
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Jurisdictional Status of the MDC

Text: Having concluded that we may take judicial notice on appeal of whether a particular piece of land falls within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, we turn to address the jurisdictional status of the MDC. As Davis concedes, documents submitted by the Government show that the United States purchased the land on which the MDC now sits from the Bush Terminal Building Company on October 18, 1918, originally for use as a United States Navy depot. See Appellant Reply Br. 12. At the time of this purchase, Section 50 of the Consolidated Laws of New York provided as follows: The consent of the state of New York is hereby given to the purchase by the government of the United States, and under the authority of the same, of any tract, piece or parcel of land from any individual or individuals, bodies politic or corporate within the boundaries of this state, for the purpose of . . . navy yards . . . or buildings and structures for the storage, manufacture or production of supplies, ordinance, apparatus or equipment of any kind whatsoever for the use of the army or navy, and all deeds, conveyances or other papers relating to the title thereof shall be recorded in the office of the register, if any, or if not in the office of the county clerk, of the county where the said lands are situated. Laws of New York, 1917, Chap. 819 (amending Consol. Laws N.Y. 1909, Art. 4 § 50). In 1922, the New York legislature extended the reach of Section 50 to include land purchased by the United States for the purpose of “any other needful building.” Laws of New York, 1922, Chap. 14. The Navy continued to use the land until 1993, when it was transferred to the BOP to become the MDC. 19 In light of this history, we find as a matter of law that the MDC is indeed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. In particular, all of the conditions necessary for the federal government to obtain jurisdiction over the land were met: The federal government purchased the land for use by the Navy with the consent of New York, as reflected in Section 50. See, e.g., United States v. State Tax Comm’n of Miss., 412 U.S. 363, 372 n.15 (1973) (noting that consent may be in the form of a general consent statute or consent to a particular acquisition). And, as Davis concedes, because the purchase took place prior to 1940, acceptance of jurisdiction by the federal government is presumed absent evidence to the contrary, of which there is none in this case. Appellant Reply Br. 12 n.4; see Cassidy, 571 F.2d at 536; see also Markham v. United States, 215 F.2d 56, 58 (4th Cir. 1954) (presuming acceptance of jurisdiction over land acquired in 1919). The fact that the federal government changed its use of the land in 1993 makes no difference to the analysis or conclusion, as New York extended the terms of its consent long before that date to encompass “any other needful building,” and the MDC plainly qualifies as such. See, e.g., Silas Mason, 302 U.S. at 203 (noting that the phrase “other needful Buildings” in the Enclave Clause includes “whatever structures are found to be necessary in the performance of the functions of the Federal Government”); see also Paul, 371 U.S. at 264 (explaining that if land is acquired without state consent and the state gives “its ‘consent’” later, the federal government still obtains jurisdiction). In arguing otherwise, Davis cites two other provisions of New York law. The first, Section 52 of the Consolidated Laws of New York, provided as follows in 1918, when the United States purchased the land at issue in this case: 20 Whenever the United States, by any agent authorized under the hand and seal of any head of an executive department of the government of the United States, shall cause to be filed and recorded in the office of the secretary of state of the state of New York, certified copies of the record or transfer to the United States of any tracts or parcels of land within this state, which have been acquired by the United States for any of the purposes aforesaid, together with maps or plats and descriptions of such lands by metes and bounds, and a certificate of the attorney-general of the United States that the United States is in possession of said lands and premises for either of the works or purposes aforesaid, under a clear and complete title, the governor of this state is authorized, if he deems it proper, to execute in duplicate, in the name of the state and under its great seal, a deed or release of the state ceding to the United States the jurisdiction of said tracts or parcels of land as hereinafter provided. Consol. Laws N.Y. 1909, Art. 4 § 52. The second, Section 55, stated that “said deed or release shall become valid and effectual only upon such filing and recording” with the New York Secretary of State. Id. § 55. Davis argues that, while Section 50 provided New York’s consent to the purchase of the land, Sections 52 and 55 placed certain conditions on that consent — namely, that jurisdiction would not be ceded unless and until the Governor filed the deed or release with the Secretary of State — and that those conditions were not met in this case. Appellant Reply Br. 14-16; Appellant Supp. Br. 1-8. This argument is unavailing. By their plain terms, Sections 52 and 55 govern the second method by which the federal government can obtain jurisdiction over a given plot of land: cession. See Consol. Laws N.Y. 1909, Art. 4 § 52 (authorizing the Governor “to execute . . . a deed or release of the state ceding to the United States the jurisdiction of said tracts or parcels of land”) (emphasis added)). Where, as here, the federal government purchases land with the consent of the state for “the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings,” no other action is required for the United States to obtain jurisdiction over the land. U.S. Const., art. I, § 8, cl. 17. To be sure, “a State may 21 condition its ‘consent’ upon its retention of jurisdiction over the lands consistent with the federal use,” but even if it does so, that does not deprive the federal government of jurisdiction over the land for purposes of Section 7(3); it merely means that federal jurisdiction is concurrent rather than exclusive. Paul, 371 U.S. at 265 (citing Dravo Contracting, 302 U.S. at 146-49). At most, therefore, if the conditions in Sections 52 and 55 were never met, as Davis alleges, it would mean that New York never ceded its own jurisdiction over the land on which the MDC sits — a proposition that we need not entertain today. See, e.g., People v. Vendome Serv., Inc., 19 N.Y.S.2d 195, 196-97 (N.Y. Sp. Sess.) (holding that “unless and until said Section 52 has in all respects been complied with and its requirements completely met[,] the United States Government cannot be said to exercise jurisdiction over property acquired under sections 50 and 51 to the partial or total exclusion of the State of New York” (emphasis added)), aff’d, 284 N.Y. 742 (N.Y. 1940). Even if New York does retain jurisdiction over the land on which the MDC sits, the property would still be subject to federal jurisdiction for purposes of Section 7(3).