Federal homicide cases

Most homicide cases in criminal courts are pursued under state law. However, some homicide cases are pursued in federal courts. The penalties for federal homicides can be quite serious – indeed, some federal homicide defendants are eligible for the death penalty. Federal prosecutors do not always pursue the death penalty in cases in which defendants might be eligible, but it is a possibility, unlike in New York state court, for example.

All federal crimes have to have an element of federal jurisdiction, meaning that there must be an interstate or multistate element to the crime. As a practical matter, in federal cases, that means that the homicide must normally either 1) fall within “the special maritime jurisdiction” of the United States, 2) be part of an interstate conspiracy, such as a drug trafficking organization, 3) involve the use of a firearm, 4) occur on federal property, such as a federal prison, and/or 5) involve the murder of an American national abroad, or be perpetrated by an American national abroad.

The special maritime jurisdiction is defined in 18 USC Section 7. Under the special maritime jurisdiction doctrine, homicides or assaults that happen on cruise ships departing from or bound for American territory can be prosecuted in federal court. Similarly, homicides and assaults that happen on airplane flights going to or from the U.S. can fall within federal jurisdiction. Finally, the special maritime jurisdiction covers cases in which American nationals commit crimes in foreign countries, or are victims of crimes in foreign countries.

Many federal homicide charges are brought as part of a racketeering indictment. A common charge – Murder in Aid of Racketeering – is punishable by death or life imprisonment pursuant to 18 USC 1959(a)(1):

(a)Whoever, as consideration for the receipt of, or as consideration for a promise or agreement to pay, anything of pecuniary value from an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity, or for the purpose of gaining entrance to or maintaining or increasing position in an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity, murders, kidnaps, maims, assaults with a dangerous weapon, commits assault resulting in serious bodily injury upon, or threatens to commit a crime of violence against any individual in violation of the laws of any State or the United States, or attempts or conspires so to do, shall be punished—

(1) for murder, by death or life imprisonment, or a fine under this title, or both; and for kidnapping, by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or a fine under this title, or both

The federal government can also regulate firearms and their use, under the jurisdictional theory that firearms are made and transported throughout our interstate system of commerce. (True, there may exist some 3-D printed firearms that were manufactured wholly within a single state, but the general presumption is that firearms, their components, and their ammunition are generally made and transported across state or national borders.) Using a firearm to kill someone can be prosecuted in federal court under 18 USC 924j, and is also potentially punishable by death:

A person who, in the course of a violation of subsection (c), causes the death of a person through the use of a firearm, shall—(1) if the killing is a murder (as defined in section 1111), be punished by death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life; and (2) if the killing is manslaughter (as defined in section 1112), be punished as provided in that section.

Federal law classifies homicide in three ways: first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter. The definitions for the two types of murder can be found in 18 USC Section 1111: a) Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. Every murder perpetrated by poison, lying in wait, or any other kind of willful, deliberate, malicious, and premeditated killing; or committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, any arson, escape, murder, kidnapping, treason, espionage, sabotage, aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse, child abuse, burglary, or robbery; or perpetrated as part of a pattern or practice of assault or torture against a child or children; or perpetrated from a premeditated design unlawfully and maliciously to effect the death of any human being other than him who is killed, is murder in the first degree.

Any other murder is murder in the second degree.

Matthew Galluzzo is a former Manhattan prosecutor and experienced federal criminal defense attorney. He has successfully represented numerous individuals accused of homicide in federal and state courts. If you or a loved one have been accused of a federal homicide, you should strongly consider contacting Matthew Galluzzo.