The existence of Bullfrog County had the potential to create serious legal problems for the state of Nevada. The Nevada Constitution requires all criminal trials to be tried in the county where the crime occurred, and before a jury of residents of that county. However, since it was not assigned to a judicial district, it had no judiciary or prosecutors. If a felony or gross misdemeanor was committed in Bullfrog County it would have been theoretically impossible to empanel a jury, potentially opening the possibility of a perfect crime. Nevada Attorney General Brian McKay insisted that such cases could be taken care of via "the rule of necessity", and officials said that it was very unlikely that a crime would be committed in any event. On the other hand, state judge William P. Beko noted that anti-nuclear protesters posed "immediate problems" in that respect. The Department of Energy retaliated for the creation of the county by granting nearby Clark County special status and consequent funds. This backfired on the Department, however, as Clark County used that money to fund studies unfavorable to the Yucca Mountain site.