The Hobbs Act - Yet Another Federal Overreach

[DGS49]

Here in Western Pennsylvania, today's news includes the story of a local Bad Guy, one George Wilson, 39, was convicted in the Federal District Court of shooting a store clerk in the context of a robbery in 2014, and sentenced to 31 years, more or less, in Federal prison. If you are wondering, the clerk still suffers from the injury, with Wilson's bullet remaining lodged in his spine.

But you THOUGHT that robbery and firearms mayhem were STATE crimes, didn't you? My copy of the Constitution does even hint that the Feds (i.e., Congress) has the power to regulate such matters. Maybe it's hidden in the non-existent fine print. Maybe its part of the emanations and penumbras that give Congress the power to govern abortions, sanction gay marriage and things of that nature. I don't know.

Wilson was convicted under the Hobbs Act, which makes it a FEDERAL crime to commit robbery or extortion if it negatively affects interstate commerce.

How's that again?

Well, if I were a shopper in Youngstown, Ohio, and read about this robbery in suburban Pittsburgh I would be less likely to cross state lines to shop in that hell-hole of criminality, Pennsylvania.

I keep preaching this but nobody pays attention. The PRICE to society of a full-time legislature (i.e., Congress) is that there is so little to do that it gets its twisted arthritic fingers into all sorts of mischief. What is the benefit to society of having this crime tried in Federal Court? None.

Congress should meet for two weeks, four times per year. Maybe then they would focus on legitimate, Federal matters.

 

[1srelluc]

So why wasn't he charged/tried in state court?.....Did the feds suddenly swoop in and say "no worries guys we got this"?

You need to flesh this out a bit, a link would be nice.....Maybe the bad guy was a fed informant or some such and they did not want him giving up "their" info on some type of state-level plea bargain.

 

[surada]

So why wasn't he charged/tried in state court?.....Did the feds suddenly swoop in and say "no worries guys we got this"?

You need to flesh this out a bit, a link would be nice.....Maybe the bad guy was a fed informant or some such and they did not want him giving up "their" info on some type of state-level plea bargain.

Because of the Hobbs Act. Wasn't that clear?

 

[1srelluc]

Because of the Hobbs Act. Wasn't that clear?

Quit being obtuse.....It makes no sense, there had to be a reason besides "because we can" for it.

I know there are instances where a jurisdiction will ask the feds to step in, this may have been such a case for a reason the OP has not made clear or does not know himself.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Because of the Hobbs Act. Wasn't that clear?

No, it really was not clear at all.

 

[surada]

So why wasn't he charged/tried in state court?.....Did the feds suddenly swoop in and say "no worries guys we got this"?

You need to flesh this out a bit, a link would be nice.....Maybe the bad guy was a fed informant or some such and they did not want him giving up "their" info on some type of state-level plea bargain.

Because shoppers were coming from Ohio. They want this killer off the streets

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Here in Western Pennsylvania, today's news includes the story of a local Bad Guy, one George Wilson, 39, was convicted in the Federal District Court of shooting a store clerk in the context of a robbery in 2014, and sentenced to 31 years, more or less, in Federal prison. If you are wondering, the clerk still suffers from the injury, with Wilson's bullet remaining lodged in his spine.

But you THOUGHT that robbery and firearms mayhem were STATE crimes, didn't you? My copy of the Constitution does even hint that the Feds (i.e., Congress) has the power to regulate such matters. Maybe it's hidden in the non-existent fine print. Maybe its part of the emanations and penumbras that give Congress the power to govern abortions, sanction gay marriage and things of that nature. I don't know.

Wilson was convicted under the Hobbs Act, which makes it a FEDERAL crime to commit robbery or extortion if it negatively affects interstate commerce.

How's that again?

Well, if I were a shopper in Youngstown, Ohio, and read about this robbery in suburban Pittsburgh I would be less likely to cross state lines to shop in that hell-hole of criminality, Pennsylvania.

I keep preaching this but nobody pays attention. The PRICE to society of a full-time legislature (i.e., Congress) is that there is so little to do that it gets its twisted arthritic fingers into all sorts of mischief. What is the benefit to society of having this crime tried in Federal Court? None.

Congress should meet for two weeks, four times per year. Maybe then they would focus on legitimate, Federal matters.

Have to admit, reading your post I assumed the Hobbs act was something new. Turns out it was signed into law in 1946.

 

[1srelluc]

Because shoppers were coming from Ohio. They want this killer off the streets

PA has state prisons.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

If only the OP would have added a link so the rest of us could know what case he is talking about

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

So why wasn't he charged/tried in state court?.....Did the feds suddenly swoop in and say "no worries guys we got this"?

You need to flesh this out a bit, a link would be nice.....Maybe the bad guy was a fed informant or some such and they did not want him giving up "their" info on some type of state-level plea bargain.

The rest of the story:

George Wilson sentenced for 2014 Armed Robbery Spree

Judge Sentences Penn Hills Man, George Wilson to 31 Years in Prison for 2014 Armed Robbery Spree (STL.News) A former resident of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, ha

www.stl.news

According to information presented to the court, Wilson committed a series of armed robberies of retail businesses and gas station convenience stores throughout the Pittsburgh area from November 2014 through December 2014. Wilson committed each of the robberies at gunpoint and callously shot a store employee during the attempted robbery of The Exchange store in Ross Township. Wilson pleaded guilty only after the government had presented its case to a jury.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Walton acknowledged the audacity of Wilson’s gunpoint robberies and referred to the video footage of Wilson shooting a store employee simply because he was new to the job and unable to open the cash register as “one of the most shocking things I have ever seen.”
United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Pittsburgh Police Department, the Penn Hills Police Department, the Monroeville Police Department, the Ross Township Police Department, and the Wilkins Township Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Wilson.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

 

[1srelluc]

The rest of the story:

George Wilson sentenced for 2014 Armed Robbery Spree

Judge Sentences Penn Hills Man, George Wilson to 31 Years in Prison for 2014 Armed Robbery Spree (STL.News) A former resident of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, ha

www.stl.news

According to information presented to the court, Wilson committed a series of armed robberies of retail businesses and gas station convenience stores throughout the Pittsburgh area from November 2014 through December 2014. Wilson committed each of the robberies at gunpoint and callously shot a store employee during the attempted robbery of The Exchange store in Ross Township. Wilson pleaded guilty only after the government had presented its case to a jury.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Walton acknowledged the audacity of Wilson’s gunpoint robberies and referred to the video footage of Wilson shooting a store employee simply because he was new to the job and unable to open the cash register as “one of the most shocking things I have ever seen.”
United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Pittsburgh Police Department, the Penn Hills Police Department, the Monroeville Police Department, the Ross Township Police Department, and the Wilkins Township Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Wilson.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

OK, now it makes much more sense.....Sorta like a take on the old Project Exile.

The state/locals partnered with the feds.....Good lock-up.