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Federal Involvement

Violent Crimes Making a Federal Case out of a Death Investigation

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I. Introduction

How do you respond, as an Assistant United States Attorney, when an agent walks into your office and says, "I've got an investigation involving a death. Can that be a federal offense?" What establishes federal jurisdiction over a death case? After all, "[m]urder . . . is a quintessential example of a crime traditionally considered within the States' fundamental police powers." United States v. Drury, 344 F.3d 1089, 1101 (11th Cir. 2003). Must the death be a "murder" to constitute a federal offense? What evidentiary issues arise in these cases? What are the sentencing implications? This article is intended to provide answers to some of these questions. It is designed to arm you with some basic information so when that agent enters your office with a case involving a death, you will at least have a working knowledge of the subject matter sufficient to identify the issues and begin to...

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Investigation and Prosecution of Homicide Cases in the U.S.: The Process for Federal Involvement

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ABSTRACT

This research builds on earlier studies conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that focused on the federal death penalty system. It responds directly to a call for research into the process by which “homicide cases are investigated and how and why some of those cases enter the federal system and others enter the state system.” Using qualitative research techniques, this study examined the processes by which criminal cases, especially homicide cases, entered the federal criminal justice system. Researchers visited nine federal districts and interviewed federal, state, and local investigators, prosecutors, and defense attorneys who potentially played a role in determining whether homicide cases were investigated and prosecuted in the state or federal systems. The ten original districts were selected purposefully and should not be considered representative of the 94 federal districts. The findings in this report are limited to the first four districts analyzed. These districts are geographically diverse, with and without state capital provisions, and sent among the highest and...

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