Many different laws overlap in the criminal arena, and doubts are created as to what criminal court should prosecute the crime. If the crime happens in one state, it is typically a State Crime, unless it is an expressly named federal crime. But if a crime occurs throughout many states, or crosses state lines, it often becomes a federal crime. The differences between federal and state crimes can be much more complicated.
What is Considered a State or Federal Crime?
State crimes are typically all conduct that violates state laws, such as murder, traffic violations, and other areas where conduct is completely encompassed in the state. Federal crimes are specifically enumerated federal offenses, such as IRS violations, mail fraud, kidnapping, counterfeiting, damaging or destroying mailboxes, and immigration offenses.
When a crime committed seems that it could be charged as a state crime or a federal crime, the US Constitution’s “Supremacy Clause” states that federal law will trump state law, and the federal authorities will take the case over.
Differences in Legal Jurisdictions and Court Cases
The differences in legal jurisdictions and court case process are not entirely different. The main difference with legal jurisdictions is that jurisdiction in a federal court is typically held by the federal district near where the crime was committed. In state court, jurisdiction is held by the county where the crime occurred.
In handling the case, federal courts follow the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, regardless of location. State court cases will follow the procedures outlined by state law. Typically, the main differences in these procedures are the use and non-use of grand juries, how filing and discovery of evidence is conducted, and how the trial proceeds. These differences do not make radical changes in how a case is handled, but rather how a case proceeds through the initial arraignment to the final sentencing phase.
Penalties and Sentencing in Federal vs. State Crimes
Penalties and sentencing do differ in federal and state courts. In the federal courts, Federal judges use a manual known as “The Federal Sentencing Guidelines” to advise them in calculating penalties for serious offenses in sentencing. Although the sentencing guidelines cannot be applied mandatorily, they are still used in making penalty considerations.
In the state courts, penalties and sentencing is often guided by state legislation. When passing state penal codes, the legislature will place minimum and maximum sentencing penalties, such as a state robbery charge carrying a sentencing scheme of 3-5-7 years. In that scheme, a judge will use the factors to determine whether the crime deserved a low, mid, or maximum sentence.
State and Federal Lawyer Differences
The difference in state and federal criminal lawyers is similar to the difference in selecting lawyers from different practice areas, like criminal or employment lawyers. While all lawyers can be competent enough to cover state or federal crimes, you should select a lawyer that specializes in one or the other to handle your specific case. For example, you wouldn’t necessarily select a criminal lawyer to handle an employment matter or vice versa. If you are charged with a federal crime, it would be in your best interest to hire a criminal lawyer experienced in the federal court to best help your case.
