Comparable attributes of state law are beyond the scope of this report. Pretrial

		Federal and State Prosecution: Double Jeopardy

If probable cause exists to believe that Mr. Loughner committed the offenses charged, he may be prosecuted under state or federal law or both. Ordinarily, federal crimes of violence are also crimes under the laws of the state in which they occur. The decision to seek the death penalty rests ultimately with the Attorney General. The court in the Jared Loughner prosecution granted the government's motion for a psychiatric examination to determine the defendant's competence to stand trial. For purposes of the federal victim rights statute, a victim is "a person directly and proximately harmed as a result of the commission of a federal offense," and includes "[i]n the case of a crime victim who is under 18 years of age, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal guardians of the crime victim or the representatives of the crime's estate, family members, or any other persons appointed as suitable by the court." The statute affords victims the right to "reasonable, accurate, and timely" notice of, and generally not to be excluded from, any public judicial proceedings involving the offense. Victims enjoy a reasonable right to confer with prosecutors. First, in a murder case, the jury must determine whether the defendant acted with the intent necessary to qualify for imposition of the death penalty. Noncapital Sentencing

In a capital case when the jury finds the defendant eligible for the death penalty but fails to unanimously recommend the death penalty, the court sentences the defendant to "life imprisonment without possibility of release or some other lesser sentence." When the prosecution elects not to seek the death penalty and when the defendant is convicted of a noncapital offense, the court sentences the defendant, without benefit of a jury. A sentencing court, with reasonable justification, may sentence a defendant outside the applicable Guideline recommended sentencing range.
Jared Lee Loughner was arrested for the attempted murder of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, the murder of United States District Court Judge John Roll, and the murder or attempted murder of several federal employees. The arrest brings several features of federal law to the fore.
Federal crimes of violence are usually violations of the law of the state where they occur; an offender may be tried in either federal or state court or both. Ordinarily, federal crimes must be tried where they occur, but in extraordinary cases a defendant's motion for a change of venue may be granted. In capital cases, the decision to seek the death penalty rests with the Attorney General. Should a defendant elect to assert an insanity defense, he must provide pretrial notification. In the face of that notice, the court may order an examination to determine the defendant's competence to stand trial. Federal law affords victims, including families of the deceased or incapacitated, the right to confer with prosecutors, and to attend the trial and other public judicial proceedings.
Defendants, convicted of a murder for which the prosecution seeks the death penalty, are entitled to a jury determination of whether they acted with the intent necessary to qualify for the death penalty and whether the balance of aggravating and any mitigating factors are sufficient to warrant the jury's recommendation that the defendant be put to death. Defendants, convicted of attempted murder or some other noncapital offense, are sentenced by the court without the benefit of a jury. Sentencing in such cases begins with the federal Sentencing Guidelines, from whose recommendations a sentencing court may depart only with reasonable justification.
Comparable provisions of state law are beyond the scope of this report.