Assimilative Crimes Act
E904787
The Assimilative Crimes Act is a U.S. federal law that allows federal authorities to adopt and apply state criminal laws to conduct occurring on federal enclaves where no applicable federal statute exists.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States federal statute
ⓘ
criminal law statute ⓘ |
| affects | interaction between federal and state criminal law ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
federal buildings
ⓘ
federal enclaves ⓘ federal jurisdiction areas lacking specific federal criminal statutes ⓘ military bases ⓘ national parks ⓘ other lands under exclusive or concurrent federal jurisdiction ⓘ |
| codifiedIn | Title 18 of the United States Code NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| conditionForApplication |
conduct occurs within a federal enclave or special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States
ⓘ
no applicable federal criminal statute exists for the conduct ⓘ |
| constitutionalBasis | Necessary and Proper Clause NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| constitutionalContext | federal enclave jurisdiction under Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the U.S. Constitution ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| doesNotApplyTo |
civil regulatory provisions that are not criminal in nature
ⓘ
purely federal offenses already defined by Congress ⓘ |
| effect |
adopts state criminal law as federal law for certain offenses
ⓘ
permits federal prosecution of conduct defined as criminal by state law ⓘ |
| enactedBy | United States Congress ⓘ |
| enforcedBy |
United States Attorneys
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
United States Department of Justice NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| excludes |
state laws that conflict with federal policy
ⓘ
state laws where Congress has occupied the field with comprehensive federal legislation ⓘ |
| historicalOrigin | early federal enclave legislation in the 19th century ⓘ |
| interpretedBy | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| keyIssueInInterpretation |
whether a federal statute already covers the conduct at issue
ⓘ
whether the state law is consistent with federal policy and law ⓘ |
| legalCitation | 18 U.S.C. § 13 ⓘ |
| legalMechanism | assimilation of state criminal law into federal law ⓘ |
| legalNature |
federalism-related statute
ⓘ
gap-filling statute ⓘ |
| penaltyDetermination | generally incorporates the punishment provided by the relevant state law ⓘ |
| policyRationale |
to avoid law-free zones on federal property
ⓘ
to promote uniformity of criminal law within a state including its federal enclaves ⓘ |
| purpose |
to ensure that conduct on federal enclaves is punishable even when no federal statute directly covers it
ⓘ
to fill gaps in federal criminal law on federal enclaves ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
federal enclave doctrine
ⓘ
special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States ⓘ |
| relationshipToStateLaw | borrows state criminal definitions and penalties ⓘ |
| requires | reference to the criminal law of the state where the federal enclave is located ⓘ |
| requiresProofOf |
absence of an applicable federal criminal statute
ⓘ
location of the offense within federal territorial jurisdiction ⓘ |
| scope |
state criminal laws not inconsistent with federal law
ⓘ
substantive criminal offenses ⓘ |
| typeOfJurisdiction | criminal jurisdiction ⓘ |
| usedIn | federal criminal prosecutions ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.