Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

What if a case starts off as a state crime then the Feds with no jurisdiction of address comes and takes case over.

How do I as defendant who don't want to be in a federal court room, challenge the Feds jurisdiction and have my case to be returned to state court?


Asked on 5/31/18, 6:26 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

First things first: It sounds like you don't have a lawyer. It also sounds like you need one right away. If you can't afford to hire a lawyer, the court will appoint one for you at public expense. Do not try to defend yourself in a criminal case, regardless of whether it is state or federal.

As to the issues you asked about:

If you have been charged with a federal crime, then those charges must be handled by a federal court. State courts have no jurisdiction to hear federal cases.

I don't know why you think the feds lack jurisdiction, but if you're right then you can move to dismiss the charges on that basis. You refer to "jurisdiction of address," but there is no such thing. Whether you committed a federal crime does not depend on your address or anyone else's.

If there was already a state court case against you, it wasn't "taken over" by the federal prosecutors. That's not how things work. It's possible that the state case was dismissed, or that it was stayed pending the outcome of the federal case. Or both cases may still be active. Do not assume that the start of a federal case means the state case has stopped, or even that it has paused.

If there *wasn't* already a state court case against you, then it's possible that federal investigators asked the state to step aside. There are various reasons why that could happen, and various ways it could play out.

As I said at the start, you need a lawyer. Get one immediately.

Good luck.

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Answered on 5/31/18, 7:59 pm


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