A driver is abducted by a stranger while traveling from one state to another and is eventually robbed of money. The stranger is charged with kidnapping in the neighboring state. Can the stranger be convicted of kidnapping there?

• A. Yes, because the asportation occurred in the neighboring state and was more than incidental to the robbery.
• B. No, because kidnapping requires a longer period of captivity.
• C. Yes, but only if the movement crossed state lines.
• D. No, because kidnapping must occur wholly within the state where the crime began.

Answer: (A)

The key idea is where the kidnapping act occurs and what constitutes asportation. Kidnapping is not just confinement; it includes the moving of the victim (asportation). When the victim is abducted and transported into another state, the moving itself can constitute the offense in the state where the movement happens, provided that the movement is more than merely incidental to any underlying crime.

Here, the driver was abducted and carried into a neighboring state, and that movement is more than just a minor part of the robbery. That asportation in the neighboring state gives that state authority to convict for kidnapping, even though the robbery occurred elsewhere. The fact that the movement crossed state lines is precisely what allows the neighboring state to reach the kidnapping charge under these circumstances.

The other ideas don’t fit as well: kidnapping doesn’t require an unusually long confinement; the key is movement beyond incidental to another crime. And kidnapping need not occur entirely within the state where the crime began; interstate movement can still support a kidnapping conviction in the state where the movement occurred.