I guess it should also be made clear that in the U.S. there are two parallel court systems, state courts and Federal courts, both of which behave like courts of

I guess it should also be made clear that in the U.S. there are two parallel court systems, state courts and Federal courts, both of which behave like courts of general jurisdiction. The rules for when and which court system can hear state or Federal civil (non-criminal) cases are complex and have varied considerably over the past 230 years, but for criminal laws only state courts try state law crimes and only Federal courts try Federally legislated crimes. So one reason to create a Federal criminal statute is to empower Federal prosecutors, to ensure Federal judges will hear a case, and for Federal procedural rules to be applied.