You are a criminal, citizen!

October 6th, 2009

handcuffs There are so many traffic laws, everybody will break at least one every time they drive. All a police officer needs to stop you is a legal reason, no matter how small, to stop you and ask for your license. Several outstanding warrants have been served this way.

But, how many other laws are there that people break every day without even realizing it? I read an article today from The Washington Times that sheds light on the dangerous expansion of federal criminal law. The article brings just a couple of cases to light, but after just a little bit of research, there are many more cases out there of justice run amok.

The 66-year-old retiree whose home-based business cultivating, importing and selling orchids (yes, orchids) prompted agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to dress like SWAT and ransack their home, refusing to tell them why they were treating them like terror suspects. He went to federal prison.

Or the inventor who failed to put a mandated sticker on a package he shipped by UPS. The package didn’t contain anything illegal, it was just missing the sticker. He went to federal prison.

A book by Harvey A. Silverglate, “Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent”, shows how injustices occur when federal laws are written so broadly so as to catch everything in the net, especially when dealing with technology. These laws are usually written so quickly and broadly, the author surmises that we commit three felonies a day on average.

You can order this book at Amazon.com by following the link below: