Today's NYT has information about additional federal charges against Tucson shooter Jared Loughner. The story touches on controversies regarding which level of government has jurisdiction over which offenses he violated. As we know from 2301s discussion of federalism, nothing he did violates a law that the federal government has a delegated power over. The Constitution does state that the federal government can pass any law within federal lands, but Tucson is not in federal land. What's novel about these indictments is that prosecutors are claiming that Loughner can be prosecuted for killing constituents waiting to see their member of Congress.
Laws have been passed federalizing the murder of federal officials (see here for example) many driven after Kennedy's assassination when it turned out the federal government had no jurisdiction over the crime (murder - falls under the reserved powers).
From the Story:
Prosecutors filed 49 federal charges Friday against Jared L. Loughner, the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage, accusing him of murdering and attempting to murder five federal officials; killing four constituents of Representative Gabrielle Giffords who were attending a public event she sponsored; and injuring 10 others waiting in line to talk to her.
“You have a right to meet with your member of Congress openly and freely and peacefully,” said Dennis K. Burke, the United States attorney for Arizona, indicating he was confident that the novel legal theory the prosecutors were using — including charges involving victims who were not federal officials but merely attending a “federally provided activity” — would be upheld in court.
Outside legal experts, however, said the charges would give an opening for Mr. Loughner’s defense team, led by Judy Clarke, to challenge their validity.
The raft of new charges, some of which could carry the death penalty, go far beyond the previous indictment against Mr. Loughner, a troubled 22-year-old who is accused of opening fire outside a Tucson-area supermarket on Jan. 8 with a Glock semiautomatic pistol in an effort to kill Ms. Giffords.
Background
- Why is there a separate federal statute for attempted murder of a member of Congress?
- Wikipedia: Federal Crime in the United States.
- Wikipedia: Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act.
