A “federal crime” is any offense that violates the laws contained in the United States Criminal Code. The offenses are primarily white collar crimes dealing with various frauds. Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, Bank Fraud, Health Care Fraud, Investment Fraud, Telemarketing Fraud, Loan Fraud, Crimes against government agencies, etc. These are often accompanied by charges of money laundering and tax evasion. All federal laws passed by the United States Congress come under the jurisdiction of the judicial branch of the federal government. The judicial branch has the responsibility of interpreting and administering the articles contained in the U.S. criminal code.
There are over 100 categories of offenses that are considered to be federal crimes, and even though some offenses may also be covered under the California criminal code, the methods by which federal crimes are handled are unique.
(MacQueen, 2000}
Any crime that is committed on federal property (government buildings, airports, National parks, etc) is subject to federal prosecution and comes under the jurisdiction of the federal court system.
Every crime under the U.S. criminal code is assessed a base offense value, the more serious the offense, the higher the base value. Points are then added or subtracted depending on the circumstances such as the age of the victim, the amount of money involved, the type of weapon used, etc.
That’s just the beginning. A complicated grid pattern is then used to combine other variables such as previous criminal history, social and economic stability of the offender, and so on. A federal district judge must then impose a mandatory minimum and/or maximum sentence based on the final “point value” given to the case.
The federal court system was established to ensure that there was equal justice for all citizens and also equal punishment for anyone who committed a federal offense
The federal courts are considered to be the guardians of the constitution......................
