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>why is something like this decided at the state level? The US Constitution is set up to give states some power and the feds other power. Simplistic explanati

by __z 11y ago

>why is something like this decided at the state level? The US Constitution is set up to give states some power and the feds other power. Simplistic explanation - There are two kinds of courts in the US - federal courts and state courts. Federal courts hear cases involving US law while Nebraska courts hear cases involving Nebraska law. Here's an overview - http://www.fjc.gov/federal/courts.nsf/autoframe!openform&nav=menu1&page=/federal/courts.nsf/page/152 http://www.fjc.gov/federal/courts.nsf/autoframe!openform&nav... >Criminal cases involving federal laws can be tried only in federal court, but most criminal cases involve violations of state law and are tried in state 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. >Federal courts may also hear cases concerning state laws if the issue is whether the state law violates the federal Constitution. Suppose a state law forbids slaughtering animals outside of certain limited areas. A neighborhood association brings a case in state court against a defendant who sacrifices goats in his backyard. When the court issues an order (called an injunction) forbidding the defendant from further sacrifices, the defendant challenges the state law in federal court as an unconstitutional infringement of his religious freedom. >Some kinds of conduct are illegal under both federal and state laws. For example, federal laws prohibit employment discrimination, and the states have added their own laws. A person can go to federal or state court to bring a case under the federal law or both the federal and state laws. A case that only involves a state law can be brought only in state court. So Nebraska writes its own laws and uses its own courts to enforce said laws which it decides the punishment for. However, said punishment has to follow the US Constitution - if it isn't federal court can "override" Nebraska law, but only if they are breaking the Constitution. The Constitution prohibits "cruel and unusual punishment" however the Supreme Court of the United States says the death penalty isn't "cruel and unusual punishment." - here is some cases involving capital punishment - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Supreme_Court_decisions_on_capital_punishment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Supreme_C... So yes, the feds can get rid of the death penalty two ways. Either the US Supreme Court declares death penalty as unconstitutional or the US Constitution is specifically amended to prohibit the death penalty. >does the federal government have a position on capital punishment? Yes, there is a federal death penalty for certain federal crimes.

jayess 11y ago
"The US Constitution is set up to give states some power and the feds other power." That's not quite accurate. The states declared independence from the UK. Each state was a sovereign nation. Those states then combined to delegate some of their authority to the federal government. So in effect, the United States is a nation of 50 countries with one federal authority that was formed to handle matters of international importance, as well as, of course, matters of an interstate relations.
- rhino369 11y ago
  That isn't really true. US states are not fully sovereign. The United States could abolish the states entirely by modification of the Constitution. The union of the states is "perpetual." America fought this battle at the ballot box during the ratification of the Constitution, the federalists won. And again during the Civil War, the unionists won. It is a settled matter.
  - __z 11y ago
    Even if it were true it doesn't differ in meaning at all from what I said. I put the caveat it was a very simplistic explication - there is shared sovereignty which is defined in the US Constitution, that's the important part. If we want to be annoying pedantic the US fought against Great Britain for independence, the UK didn't even exist then.

by __z 11y ago

jayess 11y ago

"The US Constitution is set up to give states some power and the feds other power." That's not quite accurate. The states declared independence from the UK. Each state was a sovereign nation. Those states then combined to delegate some of their authority to the federal government. So in effect, the United States is a nation of 50 countries with one federal authority that was formed to handle matters of international importance, as well as, of course, matters of an interstate relations.

rhino369 11y ago
That isn't really true. US states are not fully sovereign. The United States could abolish the states entirely by modification of the Constitution. The union of the states is "perpetual." America fought this battle at the ballot box during the ratification of the Constitution, the federalists won. And again during the Civil War, the unionists won. It is a settled matter.
- __z 11y ago
  Even if it were true it doesn't differ in meaning at all from what I said. I put the caveat it was a very simplistic explication - there is shared sovereignty which is defined in the US Constitution, that's the important part. If we want to be annoying pedantic the US fought against Great Britain for independence, the UK didn't even exist then.