eli5 Does crossing state lines make it a worser crime in the US?

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Explain like I’m five and foreign, what is the importance of crossing state lines in convictions that they mention it? For example,

22-year-old Matthias Jacob Edward Mann was arrested by the FBI at his family’s home in Hartselle, Alabama Thursday morning. His charges include attempted kidnapping and attempting to entice someone to cross state lines to commit a sexual crime.

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7 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Crossing state lines during the commission of a crime elevates it from a state crime to a federal crime. Once it becomes a federal offense then the FBI has jurisdiction and you’re most definitely fucked.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Crossing state lines in some cases gives the federal government the authority to step in because of the interstate commerce clause of the US constitution.

So if you steal something of little value you’ve committed a state crime and it will be a misdemeanor. If it’s of high value it can become a felony. But if you take the item across state lines and sell it you open up the possibility that you could be charged with federal crimes.

The $ amount of the crime determines if it’s a misdemeanor verses a felony and that differs from state to state.

Anonymous 0 Comments

For many crimes, each state is like its own little bubble of laws and law enforcement. If you live in Dallas and commit a crime in Dallas then you’re “only” breaking state laws. There are some exceptions to this, for instance, if you vandalize or steal from federally protected properties (banks, FBI offices, stuff like that) then you’d face federal criminal charges.

Once you start crossing state lines, you run the risk of violating *federal* laws — laws that are set by the federal government (the highest level of government in the country). It all depends on what the nature of the crime is.

Anonymous 0 Comments

As soon as you cross state lines in the commission of a crime, that crime comes under Federal jurisdiction, meaning you’re now subject to attention from the FBI. It doesn’t make the crime itself worse per se, but it *does* mean that there are way more law enforcement resources up against you, and which is *considerably* less likely to be willing to cut you a plea deal.

Anonymous 0 Comments

In general the states are responsible for enforcing their own laws within their own boarders. However each state is their own jurisdiction which make it hard for the states to enforce crimes which take place in multiple states. So the Constitution gives the federal government authority in these cases. And in general the federal law is more strict then the state law, at least when it comes to sentencing. This is because crimes which take place across multiple states tends to be more serious then local crimes.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Crossing state lines does not inherently make a crime ‘worse’ nor does it necessarily mean that it becomes a federal crime. If I hold up a liquor store in Tallahassee and flee to Tucumcari, the feds don’t care – the only law enforcement that cares are the police in Tallahassee and they’ll call up the police in Tucumcari to extradite me (if they can locate me).

However, there are crimes that only exist at the federal level because they involve crossing state lines. The one in question here is a violation of the Mann (no relation) Act. If I happen to pick up a prostitute in Tallahassee and complete the transaction in Tucumcari, that ceases to be a relatively minor local crime and becomes a federal crime because of the Mann Act.

Kidnapping, even without involving state lines, is also a federal crime.

Anonymous 0 Comments

One thing that is missing in the comments so far regarding the Federal vs State charges is the interstate commerce clause. Sometimes the crime is not about whether or not you PHYSICALLY crossed state lines, but if the crime somehow involved activity that crossed state lines. I could remain in State A where marijuana is legal for example, and as long as everything I have done surrounding my purchase, use, etc of marijuana is done within that state under that state’s laws no one can touch me. The moment I do something (i.e. acquire something that violates Federal drug laws) from outside the borders of State A, I can be charged with a Federal crime even though I never left.