When the FBI Comes Calling…®
UNITED STATES JURISDICTION
In many cases, the jurisdiction of a United States district court is easy to find. 18 U.S.C. § 3231 (2005) states in part that "[t]he district courts of the United States shall have original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States, of all offenses against the laws of the United States." With some fairly large exceptions (which seem to be becoming more and more frequent), jurisdiction will be found only when the criminal act occurs within United States territory. See United States v. Luton, 486 F.2d 1021, 1022 (5th Cir. 1973). However, as far back as 1864, "[t]he criminal jurisdiction of the government of the United States … may in some instances extend to its citizens everywhere." United States v. Smiley, 27 F. Cas. 1132, 1134 (C.C.N.D. Cal. 1864) (No. 16,317). Generally, if the United States wants to punish its own citizens for a violation of a treaty stipulation, for offenses committed in foreign countries, for offenses committed on deserted islands, or even for derelictions of duty, Congress will need to "indicate[] clearly the extraterritorial character of the act at which punishment is aimed." Id. Otherwise, "the criminal jurisdiction of the United States is necessarily to their own territory, actual or constructive. Their actual territory is co-extensive with their possessions, including a marine league from the shores into the sea." Id.
Therefore, it is important to look at the language that Congress uses to define the jurisdiction of the crime. Sometimes it will say "in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce." See 18 U.S.C. §§ 922, 1962, 2251. Other times it will say "within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 81, 113, 114 And sometimes it will say both. See 18 U.S.C. § 1591.