Tweet
A state crime and a federal crime can be one and the same crime or it can be two separate crimes. A crime is a violation of the law, and the state law may say that a violation against the state has four components (say, A, B, C, D) and the federal law may say that the same violation against the federal government has two components (E, F). The components need not be the same, and it is not at all unusual for a defendant to be convicted, separately, in both state and federal courts, or in just one but not the other.
And, as you probably already know, it is not unusual to be tried in one state, as well as in a second state, for the same crime, and receive two separate verdicts and/or sentences.
The logic is that each is separate from the other, so that each state has a right to decide what constitutes a crime and what the people in each state think is the most appropriate punishment. When federal laws also apply, those penalties seek justice not just for each state individually but for the nation as a whole -- in other words, all states together as one.
And, as you probably already know, it is not unusual to be tried in one state, as well as in a second state, for the same crime, and receive two separate verdicts and/or sentences.
The logic is that each is separate from the other, so that each state has a right to decide what constitutes a crime and what the people in each state think is the most appropriate punishment. When federal laws also apply, those penalties seek justice not just for each state individually but for the nation as a whole -- in other words, all states together as one.
Comment