by TChris

TalkLeft has written (most recently, here and here) about the federalization of crimes that could and should be handled by state and local prosecutors. William Anderson and Candice Jackson write about ill-advised federal prosecutions "that illustrate how federal criminal law has overstepped its proper bounds, prescribing draconian punishments for offenses that should be handled at the state level or that should not be considered crimes at all."

The bottom line in their thoughtful analysis:

During the last century, especially in the last three decades and in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Congress has made federal crimes out of an astonishing array of behavior, much of which is already prohibited by state law, could be better addressed with civil penalties, or is considered wrongful not because it violates anyone’s rights but only because Congress says so.