Free Republic

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...

What began as a trickle has become a stream that could become a cleansing torrent. Criticisms of the overcriminalization of American life might catalyze an appreciation of the toll the administrative state is taking on the criminal-justice system, and liberty generally. In 2007, professor Tim Wu of Columbia Law School recounted a game played by some prosecutors. One would name a famous person — “say, Mother Teresa or John Lennon” — and other prosecutors would try to imagine “a plausible crime for which to indict him or her,” usually a felony plucked from “the incredibly broad yet obscure crimes that...

Earlier today, the Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of Yates v. United States. Previously written about on these pages, the case arose when Mr. Yates was accused of violating the anti-document shredding provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, legislation passed shortly after the 2001 Enron scandal, for throwing three undersized red grouper overboard after an encounter with Florida Fish and Wildlife. In a 5-4 decision, the Court rejected the government’s broad interpretation of the anti-shredding statute (18 U.S.C § 1519) and held that a “tangible object” within §1519’s compass is one used to record or preserve information and...

Watch this entrepreneur explain how he was targeted and raided by the federal government for breaking a law, despite language in the law that explicitly said he was acting legally. Bradford Councilman had a business, Interloc, Inc., that utilized an internet database for customers to upload their inventory of rare and out-of-print books while other customers could search the database for books they could not find elsewhere. One day, armed federal agents burst into Councilman’s office and forced him to wait while they searched the premises. The government charged him with creating a separate copy of an email every time...

On March 24, Cara Sullivan went on The Jason Lewis Show to discuss the importance of criminal justice reforms, which include mandatory minimum sentencing reform, criminal intent requirements within the law, provisional licensing and the pervasiveness of overcriminalization in America. Cara is the director of ALEC’s Justice Performance Project, which works to highlight the need for reforms within our criminal justice system and recently produced the report, “Criminalizing America – How Big Government Makes a Criminal of Every American.” Listen below to Cara’s hour-long segment on The Jason Lewis Show:

In the wake of media reports that 40,000 new federal, state, and local laws will go into effect this year, there’s no better time for Americans to revisit the old maxim that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” An unknown number of these new provisions are criminal laws that can deprive us of our liberty and brand us for life. No ordinary American can be expected to know every law, new and old, on the books, not even every criminal law. Anyone concerned about Americans’ being locked up for innocent behavior should resolve to help end overcriminalization. Overcriminalization strikes...

The growing role of big government in our lives presents a continual attack on the cherished and hallmark American values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In no area is this expansion more troubling than the criminal justice system. Actions defined as crimes have proliferated to the point that the average American now inadvertently commits an estimated three felonies a day. This explosion of criminal statutes has little to do with protecting our communities; it is simply another symptom of the expansive reach of big government. While some criminal laws and sanctions are certainly necessary to protect public...

There are more than 1.5 million Americans under the supervision of state and federal correctional facilities, at a cost of more than $30,000 per prisoner every year. While some criminal laws and sanctions are necessary to protect safety and ensure justice, criminalized actions now include many normal, everyday activities that average Americans and business owners have little way of knowing are crimes. As a result, well-meaning, law-abiding American citizens and business owners spend innumerable hours and dollars fending off criminal prosecution for actions they never suspected were illegal, and states spend millions incarcerating nonthreatening individuals. States cannot afford the budgetary...

Abstract: Those who commit real crimes should be prosecuted and appropriately punished. But the question of what kind of conduct is deserving of criminal punishment has become increasingly muddled in federal law. Although numerous ridiculous crimes that punish relatively trivial wrongs have crept into federal law, the greater danger comes from serious laws that are vague and overbroad. Further, Congress has authorized federal agencies to create tens of thousands of additional crimes that trap Americans by punishing obscure conduct. Federal agencies and prosecutors with inadequate oversight make overly aggressive application of these laws to target Americans who are often unaware...

Well, our bold and spunky congressional pals finally crossed the line. They spent our tax dollars so carelessly, and at such an alarming rate, that we were forced to stage what amounted to a national public fiscal intervention. Suddenly, the boring federal budget became big news, as Americans demanded that Washington restore our nation’s economic health and cut all wasteful and inappropriate spending, including the government funding of NPR and Planned Parenthood. This signal from the citizens was valuable despite an eventual Republican surrender in the most recent budget battle. And while I’m pleased that the overspending was exposed, I...

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the Orange County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office has been enforcing Florida’s barber licensing requirements in an unusually aggressive way: conducting armed raids of barbershops, handcuffing barbers while their records are checked, and searching (without warrants) for drugs and other contraband. Adding to the sensitivity of such operations, all the establishments raided to date cater to a primarily black or Hispanic clientele: In “sweeps” on Aug. 21 and Sept. 17 targeting at least nine shops, deputies arrested 37 people — the majority charged with “barbering without a license,” a misdemeanor that state records show only three other...

NEWTOWN, Conn. — With the U.S. Supreme Court slated to hear arguments Tuesday in the United States v. Stevens, No. 08-769, the National Shooting Sports Foundation encourages the court to support the First Amendment rights of all media to show images of hunting and fishing. The case centers around a 1999 federal statute used to prosecute a Virginia man on animal cruelty-related charges that because it is so broadly written could similarly be used to prosecute anyone who publishes images of hunting or to prosecute retailers for stocking and selling books, DVDs or art depicting hunting scenes. "The National Shooting...

So as it turns out, even the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has its own SWAT team. You don’t need to know. You can’t know.” That’s what Kathy Norris, a 60-year-old grandmother of eight, was told when she tried to ask court officials why, the day before, federal agents had subjected her home to a furious search. The agents who spent half a day ransacking Mrs. Norris’ longtime home in Spring, Texas, answered no questions while they emptied file cabinets, pulled books off shelves, rifled through drawers and closets, and threw the contents on the floor. The six agents, wearing...

Needed: A 'clean line' to determine lawfulness"You don't need to know. You can't know." That's what Kathy Norris, a 60-year-old grandmother of eight, was told when she tried to ask court officials why, the day before, federal agents had subjected her home to a furious search. The agents who spent half a day ransacking Mrs. Norris' longtime home in Spring, Texas, answered no questions while they emptied file cabinets, pulled books off shelves, rifled through drawers and closets, and threw the contents on the floor. The six agents, wearing SWAT gear and carrying weapons, were with - get this- the...