Posted on 11/04/2015 11:49:57 AM PST by MichCapCon
On Oct. 27, the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee met in Lansing for a hearing on two bills that address an aspect of overcriminalization that has been the subject of many Mackinac Center studies and commentaries, namely, the failure of criminal statutes to specify a culpable mental state for the commission of a crime. The bills were Senate Bill 20, sponsored by Sen. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, and House Bill 4713, sponsored by Rep. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan.
In their current versions, SB 20 and HB 4713 take different tacks in reversing the trend of passing criminal laws that remain silent as to a defendant’s state of mind. (The committee is considering substitute language but has not taken action yet.) HB 4713 would apply one of three default intent standards (“purposely,†“knowingly†or “recklesslyâ€) to existing and future laws, working retroactively to immediately change the way alleged criminals are prosecuted. This bill exempts several sections of Michigan law from being subject to this default standard, including the health code, the vehicle code and the penal code.
SB 20 calls for the enactment of a default “knowingly†intent standard. It would apply to legislation enacted after Jan. 1, 2016, and does not exempt any portion of Michigan law from modification under this new rule. This means the state would need to demonstrate that a person knowingly violated the law in order to convict them of a crime, unless the Legislature specified a stricter intent standard for that particular crime.
Both bills represent an improvement to a disturbing trend that the Mackinac Center has highlighted since 2013, and each contains provisions worthy of support. While HB 4713 boasts more immediate impact than SB 20 due to its retroactive operation, SB 20 specifies a single mental state — “knowingly†— that would not require the courts to determine an appropriate standard. (Both bills correctly fix the standard at something higher than mere “negligence.â€)
It should be noted that the large exemptions that HB 4713 carves out do not necessarily render it meaningless. The exempted sections of Michigan law are ones that, according to our assessment, tend to contain fewer provisions that fail to specify criminal intent. The default would amend true problem areas, such as Michigan’s large volume of often highly technical administrative rules and regulations. Mackinac Center Executive Vice President Michael Reitz offered a complete commentary on HB 4713 during legislative testimony last month.
The bills under consideration represent important action on the problem of overcriminalization in Michigan. A default intent standard would reduce the chance that individuals could be prosecuted for crimes they unknowingly commit, allowing law enforcement to focus limited resources on violent and property crimes. Given the crime levels and fiscal constraints in many of our urban areas, this clarified law and renewed focus can’t come too soon.
If you do the crime.....
Put a ten year limit on all bills and force them to be passed and signed again. Unpopular laws won’t be re-passed (eg. the Assault Weapon Ban) and legislatures will be too busy repassing old laws to come up with new bad ideas.
You can be fined and imprisoned in Florida for picking up a tortoise and moving it off the road. You can be fined and imprisoned for catching certain fish out of season. You can be fined and imprisoned in my county for burning your trash. The list goes on and on.
"All juvenile offenders arrested, charged or incarcerated in Genesee County that may have consumed Flint water during the period of lead contamination should be tested for lead content in their blood," Sam Riddle, state political director of Michigan NAN, said in a news release.
You can be incarcerated for going 20 over the speed limit in many parts of Arizona.
I have almost the same in my county for burning trash on a Sunday. And it is mandatory that the VFD comes out to make sure the fire is put out (which means more fines and service fee’s).
Those that say “if you can’t do the time” have absolutely no idea what the “legal system” has morphed into. Even summary offenses and you will get run through the ringer and be paying “court costs” for all manner of pet projects the local politicians have come up with. It is so ridiculous in my county at this point many are simply moving (myself included). I was summoned to the local magistrate recently. Why? My son forgot to turn in his excuse notes for three days out while sick. Think about it, the woman at the school who has my emergency contact information sought to sick the county on me instead of picking up the phone and calling me and requesting an excuse note. When I called her enraged at such a waste of the time it took the magistrates to summon me (and her time to initiate it) she blithely stated “your children are our responsibility during school hours”. Sufficed to say the conversation went south real quick after that comment and she hung up on me (I figured taking a trip to the school would probably land me in hot water with that crowd). After that, I made immediate plans to get as much as I can for my home and this county can kiss my ass on the way out. No more of my tax dollars for them... I am selling and leaving. (BTW, I live in what used to be a pretty damn good conservative county. It is over-run with nanny county laws at this point...good riddance)
Simple: Don’t overcommit crime.
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