United States v. Sharpnack

355 U.S. 286 (1958)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

The 1948 Assimilative Crimes Act was enacted as part of the Revised Criminal Code of the United States. Under the Act any defendant who was guilty of any act or omission which, although not made punishable by any enactment of Congress, would be punishable if committed or omitted within the jurisdiction of the State, Territory, Possession, or District in which such place is situated, by the laws thereof in force at the time of such act or omission, shall be guilty of a like offense and subject to a like punishment. Federal enclaves are parcels of land within a state's borders that is subject to federal jurisdiction. D was charged by indictment of committing sex crimes involving two boys on an Air Force base, violations of Tex. Penal Code arts. 535b and 535c (1952) and 18 U.S.C.S. § 13, which was passed into law in 1948. D moved to dismiss the indictment, claiming that Congress was not entitled to assimilate state criminal laws that were enacted after the Assimilative Crimes Act. The trial court reasoned that 18 U.S.C.S. § 13 was an unconstitutional delegation of the congressional legislative authority to the states. P appealed.