Learn About the Specific Situations in Which Murder Can Be Charged as a Federal Offense

It is sometimes ambiguous whether the state or the federal government will prosecute a crime. Because of the complexity of our legal system, it might be difficult to determine which law will apply in a certain situation. In California, marijuana use is one obvious example. Despite being legal in California for both medical and recreational purposes, marijuana continues to be a forbidden substance under federal law. It could be challenging to determine which laws will apply as a result.

Under California law, the state often prosecutes murder as a crime. However, there are a number of situations in which the federal government may charge a resident of California with murder. The outcome depends on whether the homicide was carried out in violation of state or federal law, according to a murder defense attorney. Read on to learn more and contact Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 for a free legal consultation.

Federal Murder Charges Examples

If a murderer violates a federal law, they may be charged with a federal offense. This could happen in a number of ways, such as:

  • When a robbery at a bank results in the death of a person
  • 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
  • A federal judge or federal law enforcement official is assassinated
  • 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 board a ship

An individual will face federal felony charges, for example, if they murder the wife of an FBI agent. This statute was enacted to stop people from threatening to harm federal law enforcement officials’ families in an effort to persuade them to halt an investigation or take another action. Similar to the above, if a witness is murdered during a court proceeding, the federal government may file charges as a federal crime because the murder was done with the intention of influencing the outcome of the case.

State Law Is Superseded by Federal Law

It’s important to note that murder of any kind is prohibited in California. In exceptional cases, the assassination can also be against the law according to federal law. The murder case will be pursued as a federal prosecution rather than a state case if federal law has been committed.

A murder defense attorney can argue that if a killing breaks both state and federal law, the same behavior can be prosecuted in both federal and state court. Being charged with the same offense twice is not considered double jeopardy because the state and federal governments have separate sovereigns. In other words, a person is not being tried twice by the same government because two different governments are prosecuting the crime.

Alternatives For Fighting Federal Murder Charges

Although they might be modified for the specific federal offense, defenses against a federal murder charge are the same as those against a state murder accusation. A murder defense attorney may contend that there was another reason if a person kills a witness in a court case, for example, and that there was no deliberate attempt to influence the outcome of the case.

If the defense is successful, the federal government might drop the charge, but the state will generally keep pursuing a murder case. This kind of accusation may be defended against on the grounds of self-defense, lack of intent, or accident. Call Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 to schedule a free legal consultation if you are facing state or federal murder accusations right away.

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