People often ask my opinion about charges someone is facing in Federal Court. And often times, I do not have much of an opinion.
The reason is that my job and my expertise are limited to prosecuting people who commit acts that are prohibited by the Georgia legislature in the four counties of Fayette, Spalding, Pike, and Upson.
State criminal law casts a wide net in that it prohibits “minor” crimes like shoplifting, all the way up to major crimes like rape and murder. In between, you have criminal laws aimed at stopping drug possession, theft, or child abuse.
Federal law, on the other hand, is more narrowly focused and typically requires there to be some element of the crime that crosses state lines. Typical federal prosecutions involve the transport of drugs from one state to another or using the internet or a phone system to defraud someone. Failing to pay your taxes is another crime that can find you in federal court.
My foil at the federal level is known as the United States Attorney — a position appointed (not elected) by the President.
Our office usually interacts with federal law in one of a few ways. First, we may have a person who is facing charges in our office for one crime and facing charges in federal court for something else.
Consider someone who was caught with illegal drugs but who had also been stealing identities to help launder the proceeds from selling drugs. The drug possession would typically be handled in State Court while the identity theft charges could be in Federal Court.
These scenarios present two challenges. One is logistics — which Court should try the defendant first. Second, with limited prosecutorial and judicial resources, would justice be better served by trying the Defendant in both jurisdictions or allowing the strongest case to proceed? A certain amount of negotiation between our office and the U.S. Attorneys’ Office is needed to answer these questions.
The second way that our office interacts with federal law is when the underlying conduct violates both State and Federal laws. A typical example would be possession of child pornography which is barred by State and Federal law and can carry differing punishments. In these scenarios, the U.S. Attorney’s Office may be more selective in which cases they chose to bring to Federal Court.
At the end of the day, however, the ultimate decision to proceed with charges in State Court rests with my Office. I cannot tell the Federal government what to do nor can they direct me to do anything when it comes to presenting cases. This separation of powers between the Federal and State Governments ensures that you, the citizen, have control over the criminal justice system in your own community.
Needless to say, understanding the nuance of which Court has jurisdiction over what laws is a topic better suited for a law school class. However, I hope this offers a bit more clarity about when somebody makes a “federal case” out of something.
On a lighter note, Summer is officially over, and I hope all the students and teachers have a great year!
[Marie Broder has served as the Griffin Judicial Circuit district attorney since 2020. She prosecutes criminal cases in Fayette, Spalding, Pike and Upson counties and resides in Griffin.]
