Hello everybody!

For a total ignorant about the matter... Could someone explain which criteria does the FBI follow to investigate an specific case? I mean, I remember Truman saying to Cooper in the pilot something like "We´re kinda lucky in the way that Ronette step out across the state line. The whole town is very badly shaken up." In what exact moment sheriff Truman knew that case was something for the FBI? It was only for legal reasons? It was because it seemed too much complicated?

And I have the same doubt about the investigation of Teresa Banks´ murder...

Well they are called in for the investigation of anything to do with "federal criminal laws governing banking, gambling, white collar fraud, public corruption, civil rights, interstate transportation of stolen property, and elections."

Does murder come under public corruption? 

Hi Henry. The fact that the crimes are committed accross(sp?) state lines is the key to the FBI being allowed jurisdiction in these cases. Ya know, if you are a pimp (I'm just sayin') and you take your high school girls accross a state line it can become a federal case. The Mann Act in that situation.The thinking is at that point , crimes envolving more than one state, you need an agency with jurisdiction in both states. Enter Dale Cooper. Murder, as I think about it, does deny someone's civil right to live. For example, when civil rights workers were murdered years ago.

Sheriff Truman is limited. Once he goes accross a state line (actually accross a county line, but we will leave that angle alone here), he can only make an arrest if he is in what is called "hot pursuit" of a criminal. Otherwise his authority ends at the line. 

One or two "c "s in accross?

Of course, in FWWM we learn that Teresa's murder is a blue rose case. We can probably also assume that Laura technically is also a blue rose case.  At the time of watching the Pilot the only reason to bring the FBI in was the state line, but FWWM changes the reasoning a bit it seems. So a blue rose case suggests an ongoing investigation that brought the FBI in at some point which is another reason why it would be FBI jurisdiction (forgeting the crossing the state line thing).

Ok, but that raises the question: Why were the Blue Rose cases a Federal investigation? I maintain that they were  envolved with activities across state lines, not because they were 'weird' cases. I believe those cases reached all the way to Buenos Aires and Japan perhaps. Maybe the C I A should have been envolved?      Of course TP is a work of fiction so...

For our European and other members, the background for this division of jurisdictions derives from States Rights concerns. They provide that most crimes consigned to one state or local jurisdiction are the jurisdiction of the individual states. This concept was espoused eloquently by Sheriff Cable: " We don't need no J Edgars snoopin' around our neck of the woods." The idea is that local and state authorities should investigate local crimes. This keeps the removed, distanced, centrally powered Feds out of state business. ( I have seen the resistance that state and county authorities have to cooperating with federal agents !    )

Does that help?

I always wondered myself why the issue of underage sex was never brought up. I mean, Emory is hiring highschool girls to work at One Eyed Jack's, the magic number to work in adult entertainment (nude dancing & modeling) is 18 and Laura was killed when she was 17. Is this because OEJ's is in Canada and the sex laws there are different?

The Mann Act applies to interstate and foreign (Canada) "commerce". It applies to prostitution or " any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense." Unlike interstate offenses, the border of Canada presents a problem for the FBI to act. Didn't Dale lose his badge for operating in Canada? In real life they would ask for help from Canadian authorities and Canadian laws could enter into the mix, I would guess-not sure on that. 

I too wondered why underage prostitution was never brought up in TP. I guess the murders, in effect, trumped the lesser concern ? 

Thank you all for your explanations, now it´s clearer for me... I have always thought that Gordon Cole had classified Teresa´s murder as a FBI´s case so quickly because of the strange elements invloved in it: a body wrapped in plastic, a letter under the nail, the body floating by a river... Maybe his first impression was that there could be some satanistic ritual involved in all that, or at least, that there was somebody trying to "play" with supernatural forces.... Erm... sorry if I can´t explain myself better...