Too many laws?

Having A Brown Law - Don't Miss Item #14

by Reggie Cowan: Did you ever consider we have too many laws?

Are we making and enforcing too many criminal laws that create traps for the innocent, and threaten to turn respectable and law-abiding citizens into criminals?

Here are a few examples of ridiculous things people were arrested for:

#1 A Michigan man has been charged with a felony and could face up to 5 years in prison for reading his wife’s email.

#2 A 49-year-old Queens woman had bruises all over her body after she was handcuffed, arrested and brutally beaten by NYPD officers. So what was her offense? The officers thought that her little dog had left some poop that she didn’t clean up.

#3 A 56-year-old woman who was once a rape victim refused to let airport security officials feel her breasts so she was thrown to the floor, put in handcuffs and arrested.

#4 In Milwaukee, one man was recently fined $500 for swearing on a public bus.

#5 Several years ago a 12-year-old boy in South Carolina was actually arrested by police for opening up a Christmas present early against his family’s wishes.

#6 In some areas of the country, it is now a crime to not recycle properly. For example, the city of Cleveland has announced plans to sort through trash cans to ensure that people are actually recycling according to city guidelines.

#7 A 12-year-old girl from Queens was arrested earlier and taken out of her school in handcuffs for writing “Lex was here. 2/1/10″ and “I love my friends Abby and Faith” on her desk.

#8 Back in 2008, a 13-year-old boy in Florida was actually arrested by police for farting in class.

#9 The feds raided an Amish farmer at 5 AM because they claimed that he was was engaged in the interstate sale of raw milk in violation of federal law.

#10 A few years ago a 10-year-old girl was arrested and charged with a felony for bringing a small steak knife to school. It turns out that all she wanted to do was to cut up her lunch so that she could eat it.

#11 On June 18th, 2010 two Christians decided that they would peacefully pass out copies of the gospel of John on a public sidewalk outside a public Islamic festival in Dearborn, Michigan and within three minutes 8 policemen surrounded them and placed them under arrest.

#12 A U.S. District Court judge slapped a 500 dollar fine on Massachusetts fisherman Robert J. Eldridge for untangling a giant whale from his nets and setting it free. So what was his crime? Well, according to the court, Eldridge was supposed to call state authorities and wait for them do it.

#13 Once upon a time, a food fight in the cafeteria may have gotten you a detention. Now it may get you locked up. About a year ago, 25 students between the ages of 11 and 15 at a school in Chicago were taken into custody by police for being involved in a huge food fight in the school cafeteria.

#14 A few years ago a 70 year old grandmother was actually put in handcuffs and hauled off to jail for having a brown lawn.

Why in the world would anyone approve of the police arresting ordinary Americans for such things? These are just a few examples of the extreme. The typical American who tries to do the right thing is now more vulnerable than ever before to being caught up in a criminal investigation and prosecution — and to actually being convicted and punished as a criminal — for having done something he did not even suspect was illegal.

Criminal law has changed in just my lifetime. Once criminal law was about criminal acts that everyone knew were wrong, like murder, rape and robbery. Limiting criminal punishment to conduct that is wrong restricts government power in two important ways: One, It keeps the range of governments power small. When you have few criminal laws and a short list of things not to be done, it limits the scope that government can exercise its authority. Two, limited criminal law serves as a teaching function. It reflects the beliefs and understandings that are accepted by the vast majority of citizens — the very citizens who were subject to the criminal law.

There is a lot at stake for our freedoms and those of future generations. The problem with overcriminalization should cause study and debate by legal experts and policymakers, as well as average Americans, whose fundamental liberty is most at stake.

And, I didn't even touch on laws that protect us as a society. Why is it illegal to possess a gun in D.C? Do we have too many laws?

These thoughts were on my mind again this week after the shooting of Senator Steve Scalise in Virginia on Wednesday.
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Reggie Cowan is Chairman of the Arkansas Garland County Tea Party.

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