Sole and exclusive jurisdiction is assumed by the United States over the territory embraced and included within the Mesa Verde National Park, saving, however, to the State of Colorado the right to serve civil or criminal process within the limits of the aforesaid park in suits or prosecutions for or on account of rights acquired, obligations incurred, or crimes committed outside of said park; and saving further to the said State the right to tax persons and corporations, their franchises and property on the lands included in said tracts: and saving also to the persons residing in said park now or after April 25, 1928, the right to vote at all elections held within the county or counties in which said tracts are situated. All the laws applicable to places under the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the United States shall have force and effect in said park. All fugitives from justice taking refuge in said park shall be subject to the same laws as refugees from justice found in the State of Colorado.

Terms Used In 16 USC 117

  • county: includes a parish, or any other equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States. See 1 USC 2
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7