Crime

Can You Be a Criminal By Accident?

Can You Be a Criminal By Accident?Should you spend time in prison for violating an obscure federal law you didn’t even know existed?

These days, the government’s answer increasingly appears to be a resounding “Yes.”

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on the enormous volume of  over 5,000 federal criminal statutes enacted over the past few decades, and the slow, deliberate destruction of a crucial principle in law called “mens rea.”

Meaning “guilty mind” in Latin, means rea doctrine limits your criminal liability to your intent and knowledge while committing an act.

Basically, “mens rea” says you must know what you are doing is wrong for it to be criminal.

But that’s all starting to change, and it’s a huge threat to the freedoms of every American.

The U.S. Congress has passed a vast array of laws that ignore “mens rea” as a necessary component of a crime. Increasingly, federal prosecutors don’t even have to try and prove your state of mind during the crime. Whether you know or not what you did is wrong, you can pay huge fines or even head to prison.

This is a perfect storm of sorts. As ridiculous, vague, and endless federal laws are passed every day, it’s essentially impossible for anyone to keep tabs on these rules, and not knowing is increasingly not a defense.

We are not talking about the Ten Commandments here. These are laws a rational, well-informed person would probably never know about, unless they violated them. And there are so many of these laws, not even the Department of Justice can give an accurate tally.

Case in point: the WSJ in July told the story of Eddie Leroy Anderson, an Idaho man who used to dig for arrowheads as a hobby. During one expedition near a favored camp ground, they wandered onto federal land. Authorities told them to “Get a lawyer, and a damn good one.”

What law did Mr. Anderson and his son violate?

The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979. State of mind is irrelevant to the statute, and the penalty can be up to two years in federal prison– for accidentally digging a hole in the wrong part of the woods.

The Andersons pled guilty and received a $1500 fine and a year of probation.Can You Be a Criminal By Accident?

In another instance of federal laws run amok, a man in Flagstaff, Arizona was found guilty in 1999 of violating a federal statute prohibiting those convicted of domestic violence from owning guns. The law wasn’t on the books when he bought the gun, but it was retroactively applied to him.

He received five years of probation for violating a federal law that was passed after the act in question was committed.

Even more astonishing, use the Fed’s Smokey the Bear image or the slogan “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute” without permission, and you could end up in federal prison.

The vast expansion of federal laws, and the removal of mens rea as protection for average citizens, has already had massive impact on the American prison population. The Journal cited these startling numbers of the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics:

“The number of people sentenced to federal prison has risen nearly threefold over the past 30 years to 83,000 annually. The U.S. population grew only about 36% in that period. The total federal prison population, over 200,000, grew more than eightfold—twice the growth rate of the state prison population, now at 2 million.”

What this all amounts to is a vast expansion of Federal powers, far beyond anything articulated in the Constitution, and placing millions of Americans in dubious legal jeopardy.

The great Anglo-Irish philosopher Edmund Burke once said “Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny.”

If Burke were alive today, he would see the trends in American federal law as a grave threat to liberty.

Comments (106)

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  • Duck and cover
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:38am

    “As laws grow, liberty dies.”

    Anyone else remember who said that…

    Report Post » Duck and cover  
    • SeanW
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 11:59am

      The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world. More than China and Russia, COMBINED. Ok, I misspoke there, ALMOST combined lol:
      Country Prison population Population per 100,000
      US 2,193,798 737
      CHINA 1,548,498 118
      RUSSIA 874,161 615
      BRAZIL 371,482 193
      INDIA 332,112 30
      MEXICO 214,450 196
      UKRAINE 162,602 350

      Whole chart can be found here:
      http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/uk/06/prisons/html/nn2page1.stm

      Land of the free and home of the brave? Yea right, if you believe that anymore I got a bridge for sale :)

      Report Post »  
    • AmeriCat
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 12:17pm

      @SEAN….U.S. imprisons more?…..because those other countries KILL the violators!
      ….

      Report Post »  
    • Black Eagle
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 12:39pm

      SeanW — those statistics about the USA incarcerating a higher percentage of its citizens were generated by left-wing groups and are not trustworthy. They also are structurally inaccurate — for example, in communist nations, 100% of the population are prisoners, who cannot leave and have dramatically restricted lives in every respect. In many Muslim nations, 50% of the population are prisoners — women — whose lives are controlled down to marriage choice and capacity to work, if they may leave an abusive spouse or travel to other nations, and so on. Those nations have a dramatically larger “prison population”. The USA does have higher crime rates than other nations which practice racism and therefore have very restricted and homogeneous populations. For example, Japan does not allow many other people from other world regions into their culture. So the kind of social tension one sees in the USA, which is a kind of “united nations” in that we have people from all over the world, tend to be higher here. And in some nations — Mexico, and much of Africa, criminal acts such as murder simply don’t go punished, or they are handled outside of legal frameworks involving prisons. Remember, “figures can lie, and liars can figure”.

      Report Post »  
    • CottonMPG
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 1:11pm

      Real smart to fill up our prisons with the innocent so the rest of us are punished by having to pay to take care of them. That way we all suffer!!

      Report Post » CottonMPG  
    • TBA001
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 1:12pm

      Laws are passed in congress and we must monitor their every move… You all should register at http://www.voiceinnumbers.com and get free email alerts every time your senator casts a vote. Knowledge is power.

      Report Post » TBA001  
    • jb.kibs
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 1:28pm

      Exactly, Got Rope?

      Report Post »  
    • bumpkin
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 2:05pm

      As facebook grows, liberty dies! I just closed my account with FB yesterday, after discovering that everything I posted about Obama, or reposted, as in a newspiece, about him, is being reposted to his 2012 campaign webpage- not only that, but posts or replies from all my ‘friends’ on FB were there alongside mine! log into FB, and then go to .https://www.facebook.com/barackobama?sk=friendactivity none of your non-B.O. posts will be there, but anything with barack or obama will be there. Says this page is owned by the WH, and of course, is then subjected to the information archiving rule- that they can keep your info for as long as they want… Poof! We are now an enemy of the state!

      Report Post » bumpkin  
    • 408 CheyTac
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 4:22pm

      Look behind the curtain!

      I see a for-profit prison system, billions of dollars in contracts for everything from soap to uniforms, and some payola for lawmakers, and judges. What better to fill the place than mandatory sentences, and laws that have jack to do with rehabilitating such horrible criminals as people digging up arrowheads.

      One has to ask why the cops didn’t point out the law, and tell them to not do it again. The “gotcha” BS from cops with no brains sure isn’t helping at all.

      Report Post »  
    • Sheepdog911
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:00pm

      Actually, if ObamaCare is allowed to stand, the entire population will be imprisoned.

      Report Post » Sheepdog911  
    • hud
      Posted on October 1, 2011 at 1:25pm

      The next president should be the great undo-er. He should undo this mess and imprison anyone who gets in the way

      Report Post »  
  • tobywil2
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:38am

    The real objective of the Obamanation? See cartoon http://commonsense21c.com/images/BUREAUCRAT_DECISION.jpg

    Report Post » tobywil2  
    • Bum thrower
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:52am

      We are done. We must throw off the yolk of the “Political elites”. Got rope?

      Report Post »  
    • old white guy
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 9:04am

      in canada the government made every rifle owner a criminal with the long gun registry. people had rifles for generations and in one day the ownership of such was made illegal unless you filled out all the proper forms and got the consent of the government to keep your own property. i would venture a guess that any lawyer in the u.s. does not know one thenth of one percent of the laws and statutes in the country. sooner or later someone is going to fight back physically with a cop or any other quasi police organization that tries to enforce some bullsh-t law.

      Report Post »  
    • yougottabekidding
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 9:30am

      Don’t think too many states acually removed the Blue laws from the books.

      Report Post »  
    • teamarcheson
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 9:37am

      You can not live in America without violating some law every day. Democrats and RINOs need these laws to ship off the white middle class to FEMA camps like they did to the Japanese. White Americans need to be processed into soap, lamp shades, spare parts and energy.

      Report Post »  
    • Ruler4You
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 9:46am

      Absolutely, you can.

      “Stroke of the pen, law of the land. Pretty cool, huh?” Wasn’t that a Clinton aide? Laws, can and do, INSTANTLY make millions of Americans criminal. Government isn’t about anything except itself. Interesting, when you consider that the people that make up government come from our own communities.

      Report Post » Ruler4You  
    • closetotheedge
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 10:56am

      Like you say they’ve made everyone a law-breaker From the moment of our conception to our last breath we’re criminals. Cutting up a baby, literal slaughter of the most innocent to the ones’ not “cost-effective” so lets save some cash and harvest the parts’.Socialpaths, a whole 2 generations desensatized to the point that life means nothing and with no moral code murder is justified by some of our leaders and freedom is quenched. Stand up know,but you might be arrested. Hopefully they will use a hotshot but a 22 cowpow is so ‘cost effective and humane’ Thanks Oba

      Report Post »  
    • Magyar
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:26pm

      Might need a gun!

      Report Post »  
  • Sloburn
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:34am

    Everyone of us could be put in jail for something. That is just the way our controlling government wants it.

    You WILL do as they want you to or YOU WILL live the rest of your life in jail. You have to admit it makes a pretty compelling hammer.

    Report Post » Sloburn  
    • RepubliCorp
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 11:10am

      Just say you are Mexican.. that puts you above the law

      Report Post » RepubliCorp  
  • vtech61
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:25am

    Too many laws is right.
    As my daddy used to say:
    Better to beg for forgiveness, than ask for permission. LOL

    Report Post »  
  • florida123
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:22am

    I Feel So Much Safer NOW, Thanks Federal Comrades………..NOT, We The People Must Fight For Our Freedoms, 2012 must be a complete turn around if we want our children to have any freedoms left……….Wake Up America!

    Report Post » florida123  
  • proliance
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:19am

    This is exactly what is happening to Gibson Guitar here in Nashville.

    Report Post » proliance  
    • Servant Of YHVH
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:29am

      And Gibson Guitar is only one of a great many. We get arrested for breaking a law that no one knows about (even the feds) and they will use it anyway while criminals in the government deliberately and regularly break the law and they made sure that they are exempt from prosecution. The one good thing is that in the end they will pay a lot greater and worse penalty when they are judged by God. Thwy think that since they were the government that God will have to “exempt” them as well but they will find out that there is NO exemption. A lot of people will find that out whether they are in the government or not. I pray everyday that all of these people see the “light”, repent and make amends before it is too late for them.

      Report Post » Servant Of YHVH  
  • PoliticalJunkieToo
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:14am

    One thing for certain…

    All the democrats like the red tape and laws and there isn’t a republican candidate besides Ron Paul who will get rid of them. Romney/Perry/Christie are NIGHTMARE big government republicans. Cain is the 2nd best of the bunch but Ron Paul is the best. Bachman is about gone. Gingrich is better than Romney/Perry also.

    Ron Paul is the best but Cain will get rid of a lot of crap just not the Fed crap but then neither will Romney or Perry. Bachman is about gone.

    Report Post »  
  • cemerius
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:57am

    And the powder keg gets more filling!!! I already feel taxed without representation, what’s next?

    Report Post » cemerius  
  • repup
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:53am

    I bet there isnt one person in this country that couldnt be prosecuted for something in the tax code alone.

    Report Post »  
    • TomFerrari
      Posted on October 1, 2011 at 8:59am

      Er, welfare recipients.
      Below a certain income, no tax filing is required.
      So, those that take their marching orders directly from their benefactors (the Socialist democrats), are basically EXEMPT from any laws the rest of us struggle to understand and with which we struggle to comply.

      Report Post » TomFerrari  
  • repup
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:50am

    We need someone that isnt willing to compromise, like Obama, but on the conservative side. Some on the left say he hasn’t gone far enough, but he is borderline unelectable because hes pushing his adgenda regardless the will of the majority. He is everything this country doesnt need.
    What we need is the Anti-Obama. Someone that wont steal, lie, or pander. Someone humble but couragous. Someone that can admit fault and be strong in the face of adversity (mostly the press)
    Unfortunatly, we dont seem to have anyone like that right now.

    Report Post »  
    • 82dAirborne
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:13am

      Do the letters C. C. ring a bell? Far from perfect but what we need.

      Report Post » 82dAirborne  
    • poorrichard09
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:16am

      The anti-0bama is Herman Cain. He‘s everything the prez isn’t-and more.

      Report Post »  
  • bigdaddyt46
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:28am

    @loriann12
    you’re gonna love Road to Serfdom. F.A. Hayek is a genious and is the leading debunker of Keynes. look also at Hayek’s mentors. those that followed Keynes theories have brought us down the toilet. yet those who have followed Hayek have had prosperity. the next president better be a firm believer in Hayek’s theories, or we’re going further into the sewer.

    Report Post » bigdaddyt46  
    • IntransigentMind
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:39am

      Hayek wass a genius. Everybody should read Road to Surfdom at least twice.

      Report Post »  
  • LIBS-ARE-DINGLEHEADS
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:24am

    You twits that blame Obama for this as stupid. The “legal” system has been broken for decades.

    Anyone still dumb enough to believe “Equal Justice Under The Law” – that is chiseled on the Supreme Court building?……………………….anyone?

    Didn’t think so…..

    Report Post » LIBS-ARE-DINGLEHEADS  
  • LIBS-ARE-DINGLEHEADS
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:21am

    Blaming Obama flaunts your ignorance. This crap has been going on for decades.

    Wake up.

    Report Post » LIBS-ARE-DINGLEHEADS  
  • MARCH4HIM
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:04am

    Lets see…. more laws = more people break laws = convciction = convict =
    not allowed to own gun…

    Obama…. found his loop-hole….

    Report Post » MARCH4HIM  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:39am

      This long predates Obama. You, me, everybody here, everybody walking around and driving around that you’ll see today, is guilty of *something*. There was a Reason article on it not too long ago, there is always something they can nab you on. That‘s how the law has morphed since the early 1900’s, we no longer are innocent of a legal “crime”, not a one of us.

      There is a certain liberation about it however, as if you’re already guilty of something then why bother following stupid and onerous laws. They‘ll try to get you no matter what if they’re so inclined, so live like a free man and take your chances, I say.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
  • Dune
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:58am

    This is what happens when a Bloated Government, goes out of control…thanks Hugo Obama

    Report Post » Dune  
  • bharris0
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:57am

    But it’s OK for Van Jones and the union leadership to plan and instigate violence against their fellow Americans and overtly try to destroy our economy.
    We have a socialist in the white house that pretty much commits high treason with every breath he takes.
    We have a judicial system that looks the other way and sells weapons, purchased by our tax dollars, to drug cartels.
    Seems like we have already lost the war.

    Report Post »  
  • Secessionista
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:55am

    We are all being lowered to the lowest common denominator among us. This happens in all aspects of our society, starting in public school. You are a drug pusher until you can prove otherwise, you are a thief unless you can prove otherwise, you were speeding, unless you can prove otherwise. It goes on and on. You are born a bad person. This is the philosophy that destroys our culture and allows vermin to use a system to contort life into a farce.

    Report Post » Secessionista  
  • t00nces2
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:54am

    How long will it be before they will be able to take words that you post online and rearrange them and say that since you wrote the words, you are responsible for the way they are now used?

    Report Post »  
  • Lonescrapper
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:50am

    There are SO MANY laws on the books now that EVERYONE is a criminal. If the government wants to find a reason to put you in chains, they can and will, because there isn‘t a person who hasn’t broken a law anymore. It’s pure tyranny.

    Report Post » Lonescrapper  
  • Quiata
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:48am

    A more germane quote by James Madison: ““It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.”

    Report Post »  
  • Bowmaster
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:44am

    The liberals want to make everyone criminals…..but will only prosecute conservatives.

    Report Post » Bowmaster  
  • DeannaRae
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:43am

    Imagine what the sentence will be for commenting on The Blaze.

    Report Post » DeannaRae  
  • quicker
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:42am

    And they over look the afender of high crime ,the one that reside at the White House.

    Report Post » quicker  
  • Quiata
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:39am

    “I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
    James Madison

    Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:38am

    Indeed, this is just one more massive means and ways of the Progressives transforming us into a socialist or a facist nation with them at the helm. Soon enough the very act of breathing, eating or just being a citizen of the country will be a crime — as will be belonging to a wrong church, faith, or such across the board.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • loriann12
      Posted on September 30, 2011 at 6:46am

      I started reading the Road to Serfdom, and socialism is the first stages of fascism. They start out with these utopia ideas, realize they can’t have them unless they force them on the populace, so they do. And most don’t realize that communism and fascism are not opposites, but (like Glenn said) parallel.

      Report Post »  
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