Criminal Justice Systems in the United States: Federal, State, Tribal and Military
The power of a particular court to hear a particular case is called jurisdiction. A court must have jurisdiction to take any action on a legal matter. Below is an explanation of various jurisdictions within the United States.
Federal
Federal courts hear cases in which defendants are charged with violating federal law. Generally, federal criminal laws only apply to those criminal acts that affect interstate commerce (e.g., crimes committed across state lines via the internet) or are committed in U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico or Guam.
State
State courts hear most criminal cases. States enact their own criminal laws and defendants are charged with crimes in accordance with the laws of the state in which the offense was committed. Criminal laws differ among states. Sometimes different wording is used for the same criminal conduct. For example, forcible sexual intercourse is called “Rape” in New York law and “Sexual Assault” in Colorado law. In some instances, conduct that is illegal in one state is legal in another. For example, in Oregon recreational marijuana use is legal, in Kansas it is illegal.
Tribal
Criminal offenses committed on Native American lands can be adjudicated in tribal courts, federal courts, or state courts. Tribal courts’ jurisdiction over criminal charges is complex. Generally, the parties’ status as Native American or non-Native American determines which court(s) can exercise jurisdiction over the crime. The chart below provides a simplified explanation of which court would have jurisdiction to hear a criminal case involving conduct perpetrated on tribal land.1 Note that the type of crime will also impact whether federal court or tribal court has jurisdiction over the case.
|
Parties |
Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
|
Indian perpetrator + Indian victim |
Federal and/or State & Tribal jurisdiction |
|
Indian perpetrator + Non-Indian victim |
Federal and/or State & Tribal jurisdiction |
|
Non-Indian perpetrator + Indian victim |
Federal and/or State & very limited Tribal (domestic violence only) jurisdiction |
|
Non-Indian perpetrator + Non-Indian victim |
Federal or State jurisdiction |
Military
The military always has jurisdiction over crimes committed by military members. The military branches are governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) which includes its own codification of criminal laws applicable to anyone under the military’s jurisdiction. The military has its own prosecutorial and justice process. In some instances federal or state courts can also have jurisdiction; this is known as concurrent jurisdiction. In these instances, the military justice system could defer prosecution to the federal/state prosecutorial authorities or vice versa. It is also possible that both the military and the federal or state prosecutorial authority simultaneously prosecute an offense. The military criminal proceeding (called a court martial) is quite different from a state/federal court criminal proceeding. It is governed by the Manual for Courts Martial (MCM) which includes rules of evidence and procedure. This training will primarily focus on the civilian criminal justice systems but additional resources about the military criminal justice process can be found in Module 3 and on the “Resources” page.2
Disclaimers and Footnotes
1. This chart is adapted from the Tribal Clearinghouse “General Guide to Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian Country,” available at http://www.tribal-institute.org/lists/jurisdiction.htm. This chart uses the term “Indian” rather than “Native-American” to mirror the language of the statutes that confer jurisdiction.
2. See also CALCASA, “Supporting Survivors of Sexual Assault in the Military System,” 2010, available at http://www.calcasa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Survivors-in-the-Military-System.pdf.