No Flag, No Name

A Coast Guard cutter spotted a 51-foot sailboat about eight and a half miles off the Florida Keys. It flew no flag and showed no name or home port. At a first boarding, still within twelve miles of shore, the crew claimed Cayman Islands registry, said they were Australian and bound for Belize; the boat had manoeuvred evasively and papers had been thrown overboard. At a second boarding about sixteen miles out, beyond the twelve-mile limit, officers found roughly 8,000 pounds of marijuana. Three men were convicted of conspiring to import marijuana and to possess it with intent to distribute. The defence argued that the second boarding on the high seas violated an international convention and exceeded American jurisdiction, so the prosecution could not stand.