Why is my state case now in the federal system? Doesn’t this violate double jeopardy?

The differences between federal and state courts are defined mainly by jurisdiction.  Jurisdiction refers to the kinds of cases a court is authorized to hear.

Most criminal cases involve violations of state law and are tried in state court, but criminal cases involving federal laws can be tried only in federal court. We all know, for example, that robbery is a crime, but what law says it is a crime?   By and large, state laws, not federal laws, make robbery a crime. There are only a few federal laws about robbery, such as the law that makes it a federal crime to rob a bank whose deposits are insured by a federal agency.  Examples of other federal crimes are bringing illegal drugs into the country or across state lines, and use of the U.S. mails to swindle consumers. Crimes committed on federal property (such as national parks or military reservations) are also prosecuted in federal court.

So state courts have broad jurisdiction, so the cases individual citizens are most likely to be involved in — such as robberies, traffic violations, broken contracts, and family disputes — are usually tried in state courts.  The only cases state courts are not allowed to hear are lawsuits against the United States and those involving certain specific federal laws: criminal, antitrust, bankruptcy, patent, copyright, and some maritime cases.

Federal court jurisdiction, by contrast, is limited to the types of cases listed in the Constitution and specifically provided for by Congress. In general, federal courts have jurisdiction over cases that involve federal law, such as cases that involve violations of federal statutes or the U.S. Constitution.  However, for the most part, federal courts only hear:

• Cases in which the United States is a party;
• Cases involving violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal laws (under federal-question jurisdiction);
• Cases between citizens of different states if the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 (under diversity jurisdiction); and
• Bankruptcy, copyright, patent, and maritime law cases.

Sometimes, the U.S. Attorney in the jurisdiction where the crime is alleged to have occurred will take over the prosecution of a case.  Generally, this is referred to as “adopting” the case.  This means that although state police handled the investigation, the federal prosecutor will handle the prosecution of the case in federal court (where sentencing exposure is higher); this usually occurs when a certain defendant is considered dangerous and has a criminal record.

Yes, it is also possible for a defendant to face prosecution for the same crime in both state and federal court, but in many instances, one of the jurisdictions will defer to another.  It does not violate double jeopardy because it is two different forums, though a motion to dismiss for double jeopardy should be considered by the attorney handling the case(s).