Multiple jurisdiction offenses
Multiple jurisdiction offenses refer to criminal activities that occur across different legal jurisdictions, allowing for prosecution in various locations. This legal framework has gained importance as many crimes, such as drug trafficking, cybercrime, and organized crime, increasingly span state and even national boundaries. In the United States, both state and federal laws provide for the prosecution of such offenses, enabling law enforcement to tackle crimes that would have previously eluded justice due to jurisdictional limitations. For example, drug offenses can be prosecuted in any jurisdiction involved in the transportation of illegal substances.
Additionally, issues of jurisdiction extend to Indigenous communities, where tribal sovereignty plays a significant role in legal proceedings. While tribes have the authority to enforce their own laws, the intersection of federal and state jurisdiction complicates matters, particularly for crimes involving non-affiliated individuals. Statutes such as the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act highlight efforts to empower tribal authorities in prosecuting certain crimes against members of Indigenous communities. Overall, the landscape of multiple jurisdiction offenses reflects the complexities of modern criminal activity and the evolving legal frameworks designed to address them.
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Multiple jurisdiction offenses
SIGNIFICANCE: State and federal statutes grant dual, or multiple, jurisdiction for offenses involving several jurisdictions.
Law enforcement was originally a local activity. Increasingly, criminal activity crosses state lines. A growing number of federal statutes take into account multiple jurisdiction offenses. The National Computer Crime Squad of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), for example, investigates violations of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986. Cybercrime is a classic examples of an offense that frequently takes place across state and national boundaries. The multiple jurisdiction offense permits a computer crime to be prosecuted in a number of states.
Drug trafficking, gambling, and other multiple jurisdiction criminal activities frequently involve individuals and conduct that cut across national and international boundaries. Drug activity, for example, may involve a regional or national illegal distribution network. Congress has enacted a number of statutes against multiple jurisdiction offenses to prosecute illicit activities that occur across state lines. Prior to multiple jurisdiction offenses, criminal justice officials were unable to prosecute activities involving more than one state.
Many drug statutes provide for the prosecution of offenses in multiple jurisdictions. An example of a state dealing with a multiple jurisdiction offense is the federal statute against the distribution of controlled substances. When a drug offense or any element of a drug offense is committed in an aircraft, vehicle, train, or other mode of transportation, criminal activity may occur in several jurisdictions. The federal criminal code permits the offense to be tried in any jurisdiction through which the defendant or the illicit drugs passed. Statutes against multiple jurisdiction offenses are useful in prosecuting defendants who transport stolen property across state lines. When the offense involves the unlawful taking or receiving of property, the offender may be tried in any jurisdiction in which the property was taken or received. Similarly, when the offense is a conspiracy, the offender may be tried in any jurisdiction in which the conspiracy or any of its elements occurred.
The US Congress has passed many statutes that provide for continuing jurisdiction without regard to state boundaries. For example, the US Code defines criminal offenses involving the use of the mails as a continuing offense. A federal crime involving the use of the mails may be prosecuted in any district from which mail was transported or imported. Many states set out rules granting multiple jurisdiction in cases involving marriage and family relationships. An example of a multiple jurisdiction offense is the abandonment or nonsupport of children.
Another jurisdictional issue in US law relates to the concept of tribal sovereignty on reservations and other lands under direct control of Indigenous communities. In the US, recognized groups of Indigenous people, including Native Americans and Alaska Natives, have a constitutional right to govern their own affairs; for the most part, they are allowed to set and enforce their own laws. While these Indigenous communities have sovereign authority, including jurisdictional power, over their territories, these territories also fall under the power of the US government, resulting in overlapping jurisdictions. The balance of power among Indigenous, federal, and state governments has shifted multiple times throughout US history due to different acts of legislation and multiple Supreme Court cases, leading to a variety of approaches for dealing with crimes committed on tribal lands.
Generally speaking, by the twenty-first century, courts in Indigenous communities had power to prosecute many types crimes committed by one Indigenous person against another, even if the Indigenous person is not an enrolled member of that jurisdiction's particular community. However, crimes committed by individuals not affiliated with an Indigenous community, as well as some major crimes such as murder, will likely fall under state or federal jurisdiction. While tribal courts rarely have the authority to prosecute people who are not members of Indigenous communities, some exceptions exist; for example, the 2013 Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act restored the 1994 Violence Against Women Act and empowered tribal authorities to prosecute a range of crimes, including sexual assault and domestic violence, committed by non-affiliated individuals against enrolled members of Indigenous communities.
Bibliography
"Federal Crimes and Legal Jurisdiction." Justia, 16 Oct. 2023, www.justia.com/criminal/offenses/other-crimes/federal-crimes/. Accessed 8 July 2024.
Gaines, Larry K., and Peter B. Kraska, eds. Drugs, Crime, and Justice. Waveland, 2003.
Lippman, Matthew Ross. Essential Criminal Law. Sage, 2014.
Meyer, J. F., and D. R. Grant. The Courts in Our Criminal Justice System. Prentice, 2003.
Neubauer, D. W. America’s Courts and the Criminal Justice System. Wadsworth, 2002.
Pocora, Mihail Silviu. "Conflicts of Jurisdiction in Criminal Proceedings." EIRP Proceedings, vol. 10, no. 1, 2015, pp. 155–8.
Smith, Maylinn. "Jurisdiction in Indian Country: a Very Brief Overview." Indian Law Clinic, University of Montana School of Law, 2018, leg.mt.gov/content/Committees/Interim/2017-2018/Law-and-Justice/Meetings/Jan-2018/Exhibits/slides-criminal-jurisdiction-indian-country.pdf. Accessed 28 Sep. 2022.