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...