Federal Kidnapping Act

Federal Kidnapping Act

Other short titles	Lindbergh Law
Long title	An Act forbidding the transportation of any person in interstate or foreign commerce, kidnapped, or otherwise unlawfully detained, and making such act a felony.
Acronyms (colloquial)	FKA
Nicknames	Federal Kidnapping Act of 1932
Enacted by	the 72nd United States Congress
Effective	June 22, 1932
Citations
Public law	72-189
Statutes at Large	47 Stat. 326
Codification
Titles amended	18 U.S.C.: Crimes and Criminal Procedure
U.S.C. sections created	18 U.S.C. ch. 55 § 1201 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 1525 by Roscoe C. Patterson (R–MO) on June 3, 1932 Committee consideration by Senate Judiciary, House Judiciary Passed the Senate on June 8, 1932 (Passed) Passed the House on July 17, 1932 (Passed) Signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on June 22, 1932

Following the historic Lindbergh kidnapping (the abduction and murder of Charles Lindbergh's toddler son), the United States Congress adopted a federal kidnapping statute—known as the Federal Kidnapping Act 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1) (popularly known as the Lindbergh Law, or Little Lindbergh Law)—which was intended to let federal authorities step in and pursue kidnappers once they had crossed state lines with their victim. The Act became law in 1932.

The theory behind the Lindbergh Law was that federal law enforcement intervention was necessary because state and local law enforcement officers could not effectively pursue kidnappers across state lines. Since federal law enforcement, such as FBI agents, have national law enforcement authority, Congress believed they could do a much more effective job of dealing with kidnappings than could state, county, and local authorities.

Several states implemented their own versions of this law, known as "Little Lindbergh" laws, covering acts of kidnapping that did not cross state lines. In some states, if the victim was physically harmed in any manner, the crime qualified for capital punishment. This was what occurred in the Caryl Chessman case in California. Following the death penalty law revisions by the United States Supreme Court during the 1970s, kidnapping alone no longer constitutes a capital offense.

A provision of the law provides exception for parents who abduct their own minor children.

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