[Nothing in the U.S. Constitution or federal law dictates that
federal criminal cases get priority over state cases, or that
prosecutions proceed in the order in which indictments are issued. ]
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WHO GETS TO TRY TRUMP FIRST?  
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Darryl K. Brown
June 8, 2023
The Conversation
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_ Nothing in the U.S. Constitution or federal law dictates that
federal criminal cases get priority over state cases, or that
prosecutions proceed in the order in which indictments are issued. _

Donald Trump Sr. at #FITN in Nashua, NH, by Michael Vadon (CC BY-SA
2.0)

 

A federal grand jury in Florida indicted former President Donald Trump
on June 8, 2023, on multiple criminal charges related to classified
documents he took from the White House to his home in Mar-a-Lago,
Florida, according to multiple sources
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cited in The New York Times and The Associated Press.

Trump himself said
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his social media outlet, Truth Social, that he had been indicted.

The seven counts against Trump – the first president to face federal
charges in U.S. history – include obstruction of justice
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statements and willful retention of documents
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reported.

Trump said he was set to appear
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in a Miami federal courthouse
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9 at 3 p.m.

The Justice Department did not immediately comment
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on the reported charges.

But the federal charges come on top of other legal trouble Trump is
facing at the state level.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump
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in April 2023 with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

And in Georgia, the Fulton County district attorney is investigating
Trump’s alleged attempts
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to overturn the results of the 2020 election. This, too, could result
in criminal charges under Georgia law.

If a person is charged by federal and state prosecutors – or
prosecutors in different states – at the same time, which case goes
first?

Who gets priority?

I am a scholar of criminal law.
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important to recognize that criminal law provides no clear answer how
to settle that question.

No law dictating a path ahead

Nothing in the U.S. Constitution or federal law dictates that, say,
federal criminal cases get priority over state cases, or that
prosecutions proceed in the order in which indictments are issued.

The solution ordinarily is that the various prosecutors will negotiate
and decide among themselves which case should proceed first. Often,
the one that involves the most serious charges gets priority, although
the availability of key witnesses or evidence could play a role.

There are a few cases to look to as reference for state charges
competing with federal ones.

After neo-Nazi James Fields drove his car
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into a group of protesters at the Unite the Right Rally in
Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, killing one person and injuring
others, he was charged with crimes in both federal and state courts.

The state homicide trial went first. Then, Fields pleaded guilty
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to federal hate crime charges after the state conviction and received
two life sentences
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for his crime from both the state and federal charges.

By contrast, “D.C. Sniper” John Allen Muhammad
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was finally apprehended at a highway rest stop in Maryland in 2002,
after a deadly series of sniper shootings in Maryland, Virginia and
the District of Columbia, which killed 10 people and injured three.

Maryland police arrested Muhammad
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Then, federal officials were the first
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Muhammad was first put on trial and convicted of murder in Virginia
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Trump’s circumstances

In Trump’s case, his federal charges – which were not unsealed as
of June 8 – are likely to carry longer potential sentences than the
state offenses.

The felonies he is facing in New York are white-collar crimes and may
not result in any prison time
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legal experts have said.

Of course, much about Trump’s case is unique. Never has a former
president faced federal or state prosecution. That fact alone probably
makes priority for the federal prosecution more likely.

An active presidential candidate has faced criminal charges in the
past, though.

Socialist Party nominee Eugene Debs
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was prosecuted and convicted under the Espionage Act
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World War I in 1918. He campaigned from prison
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for the 1920 election, before losing to Republican Warren G. Harding
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[A number of court documents, with the one on top saying prominently
'Search and seizure warrant' in bold type and all capital letters.]
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A judge unsealed a search warrant that showed the FBI was
investigating former president Donald Trump for possible violation of
the Espionage Act. AP Photo/Jon Elswick
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Federal authorities could assert priority over state officials by
taking custody of the defendant. States cannot arrest suspects who are
outside the state’s borders, but federal law enforcement officers
can arrest suspects anywhere [[link removed]] in the
country.

It is exceedingly unlikely that federal prosecutors would ask a court
to detain Trump in jail before trial. Rather, they are likely to allow
him to be released on bail as the New York court did
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in April. But their nationwide jurisdiction gives federal authorities
an advantage over states in controlling the defendant, in terms of
placing and enforcing bail conditions, for example, regardless of
where he resides at the moment.[The Conversation]

Darryl K. Brown
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Professor of Law, _University of Virginia
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This article is republished from The Conversation
[[link removed]] under a Creative Commons license. Read
the original article
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* Donald Trump
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* criminal justice system
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