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Federal, State and Juvenile Crimes
Generally, a law must be passed by a legislative body before an act can be considered as a crime. The law must define the specific act that constitutes a criminal offense, establish punishment to it, and declare what court has jurisdiction over the unlawful act. Depending on the offense committed and circumstances of the offender, the court which has the jurisdiction over, or power to hear and decide, the criminal case can be the federal, a state, or a juvenile court.
Federal and State Crimes
While state laws define majority of the crimes, the U.S. Congress has also enacted federal criminal statutes which are defined in Title 18 of the U.S. Code. Federal crimes fall into three general categories: crimes that have an effect on interstate commerce, crimes that took place beyond any state's jurisdiction, and crimes that interfere with the activities of the federal government.
It is possible that an offense violates both a state law and a federal law. For instance, a group of armed men rob a federally insured state bank. The robbers, in this case, may be prosecuted in either the federal court, or a state court, or both without putting the defendants in double jeopardy, which the Fifth Amendment prohibits. The reason that the offenders can be possibly prosecuted in both federal and state courts is that the robbery is considered as two different crimes.
Juvenile Crimes
Juvenile courts have jurisdiction over all juveniles who commit a violation of criminal law of a state or the federal government. The original jurisdiction of juvenile courts is generally based on the age of the juvenile and the state where the offense is committed. Some state laws establish a minimum age for a juvenile to be referred to a juvenile court, while others do not. The maximum age for which the juvenile court may acquire jurisdiction over the juvenile offender varies between 15 and 17 among states. There are instances, however, when juvenile offenders may be tried as adults in criminal court regardless of their age and the law which states that juvenile court has original jurisdiction over the case.
You may want to ask the advice of an attorney to know which court has jurisdiction over the offense you have committed.