It is frequently unclear whether a crime will be prosecuted by the state or the federal government. Our legal system is complicated, and determining which law applies to a specific circumstance can be challenging. Marijuana usage is one apparent example in California. While marijuana is allowed in California for both medical and recreational uses, it remains a prohibited drug under federal law. This might make it difficult to know which legislation will apply.
When it comes to murder, the state usually charges it as a crime under California law. However, there are several circumstances in which the federal government may prosecute a California resident with murder. According to a criminal defense attorney in Irvine CA, the decision hinges on whether the homicide was committed in violation of state or federal law. To learn more, contact Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 and request a free legal consultation.
Examples of federal murder charges
A federal crime can be charged if a person’s act of murdering someone breaches a federal statute. This might occur in a variety of ways, including:
- When a robbery at a bank results in a homicide
- A homicide committed with the purpose of influencing the outcome of a legal case
- Any assassination that takes place on federal land, such as national parks or Native American reservations
- Assassination of a federal judge or federal law enforcement official
- The assassination of a member of a federal law enforcement official’s immediate family
- The assassination of a government official (elected or appointed)
- Murder on the deck of s ship
A person who murders the wife of an FBI agent, for example, will be prosecuted with a federal felony. This legislation was enacted to prevent anyone from threatening federal law enforcement officers with damage to their families in order to get them to end an investigation or take another action.
Similarly, if someone kills a witness in a court case, the federal government may prosecute the act as a federal felony since it is a murder committed with the intent of influencing a court case.
California murder laws
Of course, any sort of murder committed in the state of California is illegal. In rare circumstances, the assassination may also be illegal under federal law. If federal law has been broken, the murder case will be prosecuted as a federal prosecution rather than a state case. If a homicide violates both state and federal law, as a criminal defense attorney in Irvine CA can explain, the same behavior can be tried in both federal and state court.
Because the state and federal governments are different sovereigns, this is not deemed double jeopardy – being prosecuted twice for the same crime. In other words, because the crime is being prosecuted by two distinct governments, a person is not being tried twice by the same government. If you have been charged with or accused of murder, contact Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 to speak to a criminal defense attorney in Irvine CA who can help with both federal and state cases.
