Although offenses involving motor vehicles thefts
are usually prosecuted by state and local law
enforcement authorities, the increased number of
such offenses and the increased use of violence in
connection with the offenses caused Congress to
enact a federal carjacking statute. Congress also
directed the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the
United States Attorneys' offices to cooperate with
state and local authorities in the investigation of
such offenses and to prosecute some offenses in
federal court.
The federal carjacking statute was enacted in
1992 and was amended in 1994. The statute provides
that whoever, with the intent to cause death or
serious bodily harm, takes a motor vehicle from
another person by force, violence, or intimidation,
which motor vehicle has been transported, shipped,
or received in interstate or foreign commerce,
commits a federal offense. The original statute
included a requirement regarding the possession of a
firearm. The amended statute substituted the firearm
requirement with the element of an intent to cause
death or serious bodily harm.
The requirement of interstate or foreign commerce
is met when a motor vehicle is moved in interstate
or foreign commerce. In order to prove interstate or
foreign commerce, the federal government only needs
to prove that the motor vehicle traveled at some
time in interstate or foreign commerce, such as when
the motor vehicle is manufactured in one state and
is transported across state lines to another state.
The government does not need to prove that the motor
vehicle was moving in interstate commerce at the
time that it was carjacked. It only needs to prove
that the motor vehicle was moving in interstate
commerce at one time in the past.
Although the constitutionality of the federal
carjacking statute has been challenged in the
courts, most federal courts have upheld the statute
as a valid exercise of Congress's powers under the
Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.
Those courts have found a connection between the
statute and interstate commerce based on the effect
of carjacking on interstate travel and on the travel
of foreign citizens in the United States, based on
the impact of the sale of stolen motor vehicles and
their parts in interstate commerce, and based on
increased insurance premiums as a result of
carjackings.
The punishment for the federal offense of
carjacking is severe. If no serious bodily injury or
death occurred, a carjacker may be sentenced to 15
years in prison. If serious bodily injury occurred
as a result of the carjacking, a carjacker may be
sentenced to 25 years in prison. If a death occurred
as a result of the carjacking, a carjacker may be
sentenced to life in prison or may even receive the
death penalty.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has the
responsibility for investigating violations of the
federal carjacking statute.
Copyright 2007
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