[SllX]

Not quite. It’s overlapping jurisdiction and overlapping sovereignty.

Murder would still be illegal under common law, but let’s take your hypothetical and say that it wasn’t, and say that a state didn’t have a statute against murder: the Federal Government could prosecute under Federal law in the Federal court system.

The States have no obligation to charge under that same Federal statute though, and in fact can’t because it’s not their law.

[xeromal]

Great distinction. It's how states get away with making weed "legal" even thought its illegal federal. Today, a federal agent could easily charge with you having a schedule 1 drug on your person in California and it would easily ruin your life. Banks generally won't deal with weed stores for this very reason so California had a vote to make it's on state-run bank but I can't remember if it passed.

That said, I don't think federal agents ever charge anyone primarily for possessing weed though I wouldn't be surprised if they add it on to an additional charge.

[Mountain_Skies]

A couple decades ago, Alabama had no state law against prostitution, relying on the counties to have such laws, which all of them did. But there were certain parts of the causeway over Mobile Bay that weren't claimed by the adjacent counties, leading to small buildings used for prostitution being erected on some of the built-up land next to the road. Not sure about the outcome, going to guess the state DOT claimed ownership of the land, even if no county exerted jurisdiction, and used state law to have the buildings removed.

[SllX]

Huh. That is interesting and this is why I never take anything for granted in State laws and am willing to only speak in very very broad generalities about “the States”.

A piece of land being outside of a “county” isn’t something that could happen in my State because the counties are effectively administrative divisions that encompass all the lands and waters of the State so where one county ends the next begins up until the State and national borders anyway. Beyond those lines, it’s somebody else’s problem.

[dfawcus]

Murder is not illegal under English Common Law, it is unlawful.

So have US states actually passed statutes against murder, as opposed to simply setting the penalties for it?

[SllX]

> Murder is not illegal under English Common Law, it is unlawful.

Correct, and thanks!

> So have US states actually passed statutes against murder, as opposed to simply setting the penalties for it?

I don’t have a state-by-state breakdown, but if you murder someone in any State, you can be prosecuted for it by that State. You can check Florida Title XLVI Chapter 782 to see what their Homicide Statute defines as “Murder”.