Criminal
Fifty state criminal codes plus a federal code, with plea bargaining dominant
Unlike Canada, the United States has no single criminal code. Each state defines and prosecutes its own offences, and the federal code in Title 18 covers conduct with a federal hook such as interstate commerce, federal property or federal officers. The overwhelming majority of convictions in both systems are secured by guilty plea rather than trial, which makes plea bargaining the operative procedure.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Concurrent state and federal; the dual-sovereignty doctrine permits successive prosecutions
- Deadline — Initial appearance: without unnecessary delay, generally within 48 hours of arrest
- Deadline — Federal indictment: within 30 days of arrest under the Speedy Trial Act
- Deadline — Federal trial: within 70 days of indictment or first appearance
- Deadline — Federal habeas corpus under AEDPA: one year from final judgment
Governing law
- 18 U.S.C.federal crimes and criminal procedure
- State penal codese.g. New York Penal Law, California Penal Code
- Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161 et seq.
In practice
Dual sovereignty means an acquittal in state court does not bar a federal prosecution for the same acts, because the two governments are separate sovereigns for double-jeopardy purposes. The Sixth Amendment guarantees appointed counsel for any offence carrying actual imprisonment under Gideon v Wainwright, and Padilla v Kentucky requires defence counsel to advise a non-citizen of the immigration consequences of a plea, which are often more severe than the sentence.