Jail Time for Charging a Cell Phone, Drying Clothes | Overcriminalized.com Update

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January 25, 2013 Edition    |    Discover more at Overcriminalized.com and Rule of Law home page General Editor: Paul Larkin of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies

Jail Time for Charging a Cell Phone, Drying Clothes Did you know that you could be put in jail for charging your cell phone? Or for hanging your clothes out to dry? These are just two examples of recent events illustrating the burden that overcriminalization puts on the poorest among us READ MORE >>

Mother of 3-Year-Old Fined $2,500 for Toddler's "Public Urination" Ashley Warden was fined $2,500 after three-year-old Dillan pulled down his pants to urinate on his grandmother’s front yard. The police officer, Ken Qualls, was in his car at the end of the block when he spotted the young urinator. Qualls wasn’t fazed by the fact that the young toddler was on private property when the wetting occurred. “I said we are on our property and he said it’s in public view,” recalls Jennifer Warden, Dillan’s grandmother. READ MORE >>

From Texas Public Policy Foundation: Overcriminalization on the Gulf Coast

Legislative Update from Capitol Hill Follow links below to learn about laws pending in Congress that may perpetuate Overcriminalization NEW CRIMINAL LAW PROPOSALS H.R. 221: Stop Mergers, Acquisitions, and Risky Takeovers Supplied by American Labor and Entrepreneurship Act of 2013 (SMART SALE ACT of 2013) H.R. 258: Stolen Valor Act of 2013 H.R. 270: Empowering Citizens Act UPDATES

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.