by TChris

Criminal laws that are named after crime victims are almost always bad laws. So it is with New Jersey's Maggie's Law, named after a woman who was killed by a sleep-deprived driver. Maggie's mom was angry that two juries failed to convict the careless driver of murder (the driver later pled guilty to reckless driving), so she campaigned for a new law.

The law increased penalties for fatigued drivers who go more than 24 hours without sleep and cause a fatal accident. The law allowed such drivers to be charged with vehicular homicide, a second-degree offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $100,000 fine.

New Jersey used Maggie's Law for the first time this year, eight years after it was enacted.

Note that ER physicians routinely practice medicine after staying awake more than 24 hours, but they aren't subject to criminal prosecution if their fatigue-induced negligence leads to the death of a patient. Many factors (including fatigue) contribute to traffic accidents, but they are still accidents, and accidents should not be treated as serious crimes, despite the understandable outrage of a mom regarding her child's death.