Both federal and state governments can make laws that criminalize certain actions. Federal crimes include those committed on federal property, involving high-level officials or diplomats, or with an interstate business nexus. The Commerce Clause allows federal courts to have jurisdiction over crimes that could affect commerce or cross state lines. Common federal crimes include kidnapping, bank robbery, and drug trafficking. State courts are governed by state law but cannot offer less protection than the Constitution.
In the United States, both the federal government and individual state governments have the authority to make laws that make something a crime. Sometimes, a crime is solely within the purview of the state or federal government, while, in others, both the state and federal government might have jurisdiction over the crime. Both misdemeanors and felonies can be found among the many federal crimes. As a general rule, federal crimes are those committed on federal property or on an Indian reservation, involving a high-level government official or diplomat, or having an interstate business nexus.
State and federal courts in the United States operate in essentially the same way; however, state courts are governed by state law, while federal courts enforce federal law. State courts can enact laws that offer defendants greater protection than that guaranteed by the Constitution, but not less protection. Many, but not all, federal offenses are found in Title 18 of the United States Code.
A crime, of any kind, committed on federal property, such as a government building or federal park, falls within the jurisdiction of federal law enforcement agencies and the federal courts. Additionally, most crimes committed on Indian reservations are considered federal crimes. Crimes involving high-ranking government officials or foreign diplomats can also be federally prosecuted.
Most crimes that are considered federal crimes, however, are considered within the jurisdiction of the federal courts due to their relationship to interstate commerce. Article One, Section 8, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution allows Congress to “regulate commerce with foreign nations, and between states, and with Indian tribes.” The second part of the clause is often referred to as the “interstate commerce clause” and has been used, and expanded upon, to form the basis of federal jurisdiction over a variety of crimes.
Basically, the Commerce Clause allows any crime that could affect commerce or cross state lines to be brought before the federal courts. Common crimes that are considered federal crimes due to interstate business nexus include kidnapping, bank robbery, and Internet child pornography, as well as mail fraud and drug trafficking offenses. Interstate connection is easy to see in some federal crimes, while in others, courts have extended the meaning of the commerce clause to include specific crimes. In an abduction where the victim is transported across state lines, the interstate connection is obvious. In other crimes, such as drug trafficking and firearms crimes, the theory is that the drugs or firearms have crossed a state line at some point during their lifetime and, therefore, can be considered to affect interstate commerce.
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