Question

Financial Wizard, whose office was in New York City, scammed billions of dollars from investors in a vast securities fraud scheme. Securities fraud is a federal crime and also a crime in New York State. The U.S. Attorney wants to try Wizard on the federal charges and the New York State Attorney wants to try him on the state charges. What result?

Answer 1

Answer:

Wizard can be subjected to two trials: he violated two different sets of laws, one on the federal level and one on the state level, so double jeopardy will not attach.

Explanation:

The United States is one of the few countries where each state can formulate its own laws, although federal laws are still submissive. That is, the federal government formulates laws that are valid for all states simultaneously; however, while all states are subject to federal law, each state may formulate its own laws that will be valid only within its territory. Based on this, we can come to a conclusion about the case, shown in the question above.

If securities fraud is a federal crime and is also a crime in New York State, the person or organization accused of securities fraud should be subject to two trials, one federal and one state. Therefore, the Wizard can be subjected to two trials: it violated two different sets of laws, one at the federal level and one at the state level, so the double risk does not apply.