Ed Meese Delivers Overcrim Message at Seton Hall Law | Overcriminalized.com Update

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April 19, 2012 Edition    |    Discover more at Overcriminalized.com and Rule of Law home page General Editor: Paul Larkin of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies

Meese Makes Case Against Overcriminalization at Seton Hall Law “In a democratic republic, government must perform its public safety functions within a framework of liberty and justice,” said Former Attorney General Ed Meese. Meese delivered the keynote address at the Circuit Review Symposium at Seton Hall Law School in Newark, NJ. Meese noted that there were approximately 3,000 federal criminal statutes in the mid-1990s according to an American Bar Association task force.  By the turn of the millennium, Congress had added another 1,000 criminal statutes to the United States Code.  And today, leading experts estimate that there are nearly 4,500 criminal offenses in the federal code alone. READ MORE >>

Attacking a Dangerous Precedent What happens when the Florida legislature eliminates the centuries-old requirement that the government must prove that an accused person acted with criminal intent before he may be punished as a criminal?  It risks making almost anyone a criminal – both those who intend to commit a crime and those who do so by accident.  And that’s wrong.  It’s wrong as a matter of policy, and it’s wrong as a matter of history. READ MORE >>

Los Angeles Times Features Heritage in Report on Overcriminalized Titanic Protection Bill From the Wall Street Journal: Terror Law's Long Reach Challenged Watch This Video: The Worst Thing Anybody Can Do to You is Take Away Your Freedom

Legislative Update from Capitol Hill Follow links below to learn about laws pending in Congress that may perpetuate Overcriminalization NEW CRIMINAL LAW PROPOSALS There are no new bills this week.  UPDATES H.R. 3674: Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness Act of 2011 (PRECISE Act)

See Full List of Pending Legislation >>

The Definitive Book on Why and How to Reform Criminal Law Available Now ABOUT OVERCRIMINALIZATION The Heritage Foundation and a coalition of public interest legal groups are committed to reversing the troubling trend of overcriminalization, which is defined by three attributes: 1. Federalizing crime that properly belongs under state and local jurisdiction; 2. Imposing criminal penalties upon persons who acted without criminal intent (mens rea); 3. Applying criminal sanctions to conduct that historically has not been considered wrongful. This Legislative Update includes bills our researchers have identified that add or expand federal criminal offenses or penalties, but it generally does NOT include bills involving drugs, firearms, or crimes of violence.

The Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is the nation’s most broadly supported public policy organization. Heritage created the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies in 2001 to educate government officials, the media and the public about the Constitution, legal principles and how they affect public policy.