The last and final level of the federal court system is the U.S. Supreme Court. A federal defendant begins his case in the District Court, but can appeal decisions.

Because there is an essential difference between the violation of state and local laws and the violation of federal laws, it would seem as if federal law enforcement agents would play a different role from state or local agents. Pop media portrayals of the heartless federal agent who is willing to sacrifice individuals for the greater good accentuate this difference. However, the reality is that there is a tremendous amount of cooperation between state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies. The agencies share the common goals of preventing, detecting, and punishing criminal behavior. However, each agent is confined to the roles of their jurisdiction. For example, local and state law enforcement agencies have de facto jurisdiction over most crimes. It is...
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