Criminal jurisdiction
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Criminal jurisdiction is a term used in constitutional law and public law to describe the power of courts to hear a case brought by a state accusing a defendant of the commission of a crime. It is relevant in three distinct situations:
- to regulate the relationship between states, or between one state and another;
- where the nation is a federation, to regulate the relationship between the federal courts and the domestic courts of those states comprising the federation; and
- where a state only has, to a greater or lesser extent, a single and unified system of law, it is the law of criminal procedure to regulate what cases each classification of court within the judicial system shall adjudicate upon. People must be tried in the same state the crime is committed.
Extraterritorial issues
Supranational courts
Under the
Extraterritorial jurisdiction in international law
Because each government is
International crime
Transborder crimes take place in more than one state. For example, a defendant may fire a gun, post a package, or write or speak words in State A, but the effects of each action are felt in State B. Some states claim a
The initiatory or subjective theory
The state in which the sequence of events begins, claims jurisdiction because the accused did everything in his or her power to commit the offence within its territory. Intending to deceive Y into parting with money, X writes a begging letter claiming to be a penniless widow with ten starving children and posts it in State A. X must then rely on the postal workers to carry the letter to Y in State B. No matter how hard X tries, X cannot take any further action to promote the scheme, and whether it succeeds or fails is entirely outside his or her ability to control. There are three theoretical issues to consider:
- the definition of the actus reus elements of the crime must be wide enough to include a continuing sequence of events. Some offences are either frozen in time or geography because they are defined either as activities being undertaken when the harm occurs (e.g. driving offences), or in terms of their consequences. For example, the definition of a "deception" is some form of dishonest representation that induces the victim to do or refrain from doing something that causes him or her loss. Anything else is preparatory or anticipatory to this key intellectual event. Thus, to facilitate a prosecution of X, the definition of the offence in State A must include writing and posting the letter in State A as well as the operation of the letter upon the mind of the recipient in the State B.
- State A would be prosecuting conduct occurring within its borders that does not constitute the complete actus reus, i.e. unless and until the letter is read by the recipient, the deception cannot operate or fail. The alternative would be to consider X's actions of writing and posting the letter as preparatory acts and so an attempt. This would be sensible if the letter fails to convince Y, but a nonsense if the letter actually induces Y into sending a cheque back to X.
- the policy that caused State A to criminalise the given actus reus must justify a prosecution even though no actual injury or damage has been sustained to a person resident within the territory of State A. The usual justification for criminalising any set of acts or omissions is as a deterrent to protect local citizens. It is not usually the policy of State A to protect the citizens of State B from harm: that duty arises out of the social contract between State B and its own citizens.
In English law, see the definition of a
The terminatory or objective theory
If the injury or damage affects a citizen within the territory of a state, it would be usual for that state to claim jurisdiction to protect the interests of those who are present within its borders. But X would not have taken any action within State B's borders, so the wording of the actus reus must permit a prosecution in this situation. The theoretical justification for this jurisdiction may be that X has intended to cause the loss or injury and so should not escape liability through the device of only seeking to deceive those resident outside State A (a strategy that would be very simple given the
In the United States
The
U.S. federal courts
Under the U.S. Constitution, the power of Congress to enact criminal statutes is limited; the federal government lacks "plenary criminal jurisdiction."[1] The powers of Congress to enact criminal laws "are not boundless."[2] The U.S. Constitution mentions explicit authority for Congress in three areas: (1) counterfeiting, (2) piracy and felony on the high seas and offenses against the law of nations, and (3) treason.[3] However, the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution gives Congress "broad power to enact laws that are 'convenient or useful' or 'conductive' to the authority's 'beneficial exercise' ".[4]
The United States district courts have original, exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over "all offenses against the laws of the United States."[5]
Some crimes are related to areas owned by or under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government. Examples of these crimes include those committed in the
The
- Unless a statute or these rules permit otherwise, the government must prosecute an offense in a district where the offense was committed. The court must set the place of trial within the district with due regard for the convenience of the defendant and the witnesses, and the prompt administration of justice.
Anderson, 328 U.S., at 703 holds: “[T]he locus delicti must be determined from the nature of the crime alleged and the location of the act or acts constituting it.” In Hyde v. United States, 225 U.S. 347 (1912) although none of the defendants had entered the District of Columbia as part of their conspiracy to defraud the United States, they were convicted because one co-conspirator had committed overt acts in Columbia (225 U.S., at 363). So conspiracy is a continuing offense committed in all the districts where a co-conspirator acts on the agreement. Similarly, In re Palliser, 136 U.S. 257 (1890) the sending of letters from New York to postmasters in Connecticut in an attempt to gain postage on credit, made Connecticut, where the mail he addressed and dispatched was received, an appropriate venue (136 U.S., at 266—268). See 18 U.S.C. § 3237(a):
- Any offense involving the use of the mails … is a continuing offense and … may be … prosecuted in any district from, through, or into which such … mail matter … moves.
This was applied in United States v. Johnson, 323 U.S. 273, 275 (1944) so that “an illegal use of the mails … may subject the user to prosecution in the district where he sent the goods, or in the district of their arrival, or in any intervening district.”
Problems
This system works well when there is a clear line of demarcation between the two state jurisdictions, or between a state and federal jurisdictions, and prosecutions may be initiated in the appropriate court. But laws and rules are not always so clear.[citation needed]
Concurrent jurisdiction
Some crimes have national significance and, to reflect the public interest, their investigation and prosecution will fall to the
One significant result of the concurrent jurisdiction between state and federal courts (and in some cases between different state courts) is that an individual who violates both state and federal law, or the laws of multiple states, can be separately charged and tried in each jurisdiction. Thus, a resident of Virginia who defrauds a Florida resident through the mail may be tried in Virginia state court and in a Florida state court, and in a federal court in either Florida or Virginia. A famous example of dual state and federal sovereignty is the Rodney King case. Police officers who beat motorist Rodney King were acquitted of assault charges in the California state court, but were convicted of violating King's civil rights - based on the same events - in a federal court in California.
References
- ^ Note, "Piggyback Jurisdiction in the Proposed Federal Criminal Code," The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 81, No. 6 (May 1972, pp. 1209-1242, at 1210.
- ^ Charles Doyle, "Congressional Authority to Enact Criminal Law: An Examination of Selected Recent Cases," p. 1, March 27, 2013, Congressional Research Service.
- ^ Charles Doyle, "Congressional Authority to Enact Criminal Law: An Examination of Selected Recent Cases," p. 1, March 27, 2013, Congressional Research Service.
- ^ Charles Doyle, "Congressional Authority to Enact Criminal Law: An Examination of Selected Recent Cases," p. 2, March 27, 2013, Congressional Research Service.
- ^ 18 U.S.C. § 3231.