Assignment:
Jurisdiction is the foundation of every case. A case must be filed in a court that possesses jurisdiction. You are currently working in the District Attorney's Office as an investigator, and you have been asked to investigate the court that has jurisdiction over a case that involves the robbery of a local bank and two murders. The district attorney has asked you to research the questions to help her make a decision.
Jurisdiction is very important within the court system because it is what decides whether the state or federal government has the authority to prosecute the case. In a 1 to 2 page paper, research the following:
1. What is jurisdiction, and how does it impact state and federal courts?
2. What is concurrent jurisdiction?
3. Provide 1 example of a crime for which the state court has jurisdiction and another example of a federal crime for which the federal court has jurisdiction. Why does each respective court have jurisdiction for the crimes that you have listed?
4. Provide 1 example of a crime for which concurrent jurisdiction exists, that is, the criminal act could be prosecuted in state or federal court or both. In the example that you provided, in which court do you think that the case should be prosecuted? Why?
5. Next, locate the Web site for your state's Supreme Court (if you reside in the state of New York, your state refers to its highest appellate court as the Court of Appeals). Discuss the make-up of your state's highest appellate court.
Please provide citations to your references at the end of your assignment in a Reference section.