Free Republic

You may be a criminal without even knowing it. Centuries ago, there were only nine felonies under English Common Law. The common law dealt with behavior that is widely understood to be culpable — murder, theft, rape, etc. — but in today's state legislatures and in Congress, innocuous behavior is too often criminalized. In Michigan, a person can be convicted of a crime for betting in an office March Madness pool, or mocking a person who refuses to duel. Accompanying this over-criminalization is the failure of legislatures to define the intent necessary for a prosecutor to prove a crime has...

Jerry Brown says ACORN members 'exhibited terrible judgment and highly inappropriate behavior in videotapes' but 'didn't commit prosecutable crimes in California.'

This program will address the recent proliferation of criminal laws that regulate business and individual conduct traditionally left to the free market or civil law. The program will feature: Introductory remarks by the Honorable Jerry Patterson, Commissioner, General Land Office Cato scholar Gene Healy, editor of the new book “Go Directly To Jail” The Honorable Bill Hammond, Former state representative, President of the Texas Association of Business