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A Halfway Decent Argument For Limiting Federal Criminal Law

It's probably an overstatement to assert that "every year, thousands of upstanding, responsible Americans run afoul of some incomprehensible federal law and end up serving time in federal prison," but the key underlying point of this article is sound:

Congress needs to begin fixing the damage it has done by starting to restore a more reasonable, limited and just federal criminal law.

Unfortunately, the article comes to the right conclusion for the wrong reasons. [more ...]

Brian Walsh's chief complaint is that federal law unfairly criminalizes environmental offenses and other regulatory violations. His complaints about the overbreadth of federal criminal law, while in some respects just, are supported by arguments that are themselves overbroad.

Federal law in particular now criminalizes entire categories of activities that the average person would never dream would land him in prison. This is an inevitable result of the fact that the criminal law is no longer restricted to punishing inherently wrongful conduct -- such as murder, rape, robbery, and the like. Moreover, under these new laws, the government can often secure a conviction without having to prove that the person accused even intended to commit a bad act, historically a protection against wrongful conviction.

Walsh cites as examples an unsuccessful prosecution for delivering hazardous waste without affixing a required warning sticker, and a subsequent prosecution of the same offender for abandoning the hazardous waste -- one that resulted in a conviction and nearly two years behind bars. Walsh may be correct that the defendant's actions didn't deserve a criminal sanction. Nonetheless, the notion that it is not "inherently wrongful" to violate regulations that protect others from unwitting exposure to hazardous waste is unconvincing.

In addition, the complaint that "intent to commit a bad act" isn't always an element of regulatory offenses ignores the context of those laws. Strict liability regulatory offenses are typically aimed at business that should be aware of the laws governing their actions. Regulatory offenses usually carry much more lenient sentences than crimes like murder, rape, and robbery -- a fact that courts often cite as justification for dispensing with the requirement that the defendant acted with the intent to do wrong. If the defendant cited in Walsh's article doesn't fit into the category of a business owner who didn't bother to learn about the laws governing his business, the injustice of his plight is more the fault of the prosecutor who charged him or the judge who sentenced him to prison than the law itself.

Although he's vague about the details of the offense, Walsh cites the prosecution of an orchid grower who "made the mistake of not knowing and keeping track of all of the details of federal and international law on endangered species -- mostly paperwork requirements -- before he decided to turn his orchid hobby into a small business." It's a valid complaint that federal criminal laws governing the import and export of fish and wildlife are confusing. They often ensnare individuals who try to bring something like a stuffed bird into the country that turns out to have been protected as an endangered species by federal law or by the law of another nation. Jeralyn's post a few years ago about the lobster police is a prime example of a misguided federal prosecution for a trivial regulatory foul-up.

Still, Walsh early in his article complains about these "new laws" while the last complaint demonizes the Lacey Act, an important law that was enacted in 1900. Individuals who innocently and unwittingly violate the Lacey Act should be subjected to civil monetary penalties, not criminal prosecutions, but Walsh goes too far by claiming that "the Lacey Act is an example of the dangerous overbreadth of federal criminal law." Again, the better argument would be that federal prosecutors are too often willing to prosecute individuals who don't deserve to be prosecuted under a law that appropriately targets international or interstate smugglers whose actions encourage the slaughter of endangered species. In that sense, his overcriminilization argument has merit, although it may be more accurately framed as an argument against overprosecution.

A more convincing argument for "a more reasonable, limited and just federal criminal law" would focus on the congressional tendency to federalize crimes that are traditionally punished by state law. Examples of the federalization of local crime include laws (enacted or proposed) targeting sex offenders and drug distributors and hate crimes, to name but a few. These are crimes already addressed by state law, involving no federal funds and having little or no impact on interstate commerce. A more reasonable and just approach to federal crime would recognize that crimes having a local impact should be enacted and prosecuted by local authorities, not by the federal government.

In his eagerness to condemn regulatory crimes and the prosecution of businesses, Walsh misses the bigger picture. To his credit, however, Walsh (on behalf of The Heritage Foundation) is on record as opposing the federalization of local crime, as Jeralyn noted here. So should we all.

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    Minor Quibble (none / 0) (#1)
    by nyjets on Sat Jul 25, 2009 at 07:12:28 PM EST
    "Examples of the federalization of local crime include laws (enacted or proposed) targeting sex offenders and drug distributors and hate crimes, to name but a few."
    Some of these crimes, however, do cross state lines. THere are a fair number of drug distributors and human smuggling for example that cross state lines and would be an  approate place for prosecution by the federal governemnt.

    I agree (none / 0) (#4)
    by TChris on Sat Jul 25, 2009 at 09:27:53 PM EST
    that (putting aside the philosophical argument about the use of criminal law to remedy the problem of drug abuse) the interstate transportation of illicit drugs, or the smuggling of illicit drugs into the country, is not an abuse of the Commerce Clause because it is not a "local crime."  Expanding that rationale to federalize the local sale of a drug because the drug traveled in interstate commerce at some point seems to me to overstep the appropriate limits of federal law by federalizing what is essentially a local crime.  And that argument, I think, is even more obvious when (as in Raich, referenced in the link) the crime involves the possession or distribution of home-grown marijuana, which never traveled interstate, on the dubious theory that all marijuana possession or distribution encourages a broader nationwide market for illicit drug consumption.
         Human smuggling or trafficking is clearly an appropriate federal crime.  My reference to "local crimes," including sex offenses, was intended to exclude offenses that actually have an interstate commercial element.

    Parent
    Fine people for environmental offenses (none / 0) (#2)
    by MKS on Sat Jul 25, 2009 at 07:28:50 PM EST
    based on strict liability.

    But I do have question, if one has to be a criminal defendant, is it not generally better to be one in Federal Court?  Better judges, better defenders, better prisons?  Perhaps I have it wrong on this point, but the state courts here in California are not considered as good--at least on the civil side--as the federal courts.

    Would that there be fewer crimes, state and federal.....

    Not necessarily. (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by TChris on Sat Jul 25, 2009 at 09:10:05 PM EST
    Federal prisons tend to be "better" than state prisons (safer and more professionally managed, with more resources that encourage inmates to use their time productively), but federal sentences tend to be much longer than state sentences for similar offenses, particularly drug crimes.  If the trade-off is between the quality of imprisoned years and the length of imprisonment, I think most inmates would opt for maximizing their years of freedom.

    As for better judges, I think it's impossible to generalize. There are many excellent federal district court judges, including some appointed by Reagan and the Bushes, but there are also many federal district court judges who, to put it nicely, are absolute nightmares when it comes to safeguarding a defendant's rights and imposing sentences.  By the same token, state court judges range from the extraordinarily able to the dismally frightening.

    Finally, federal defenders usually have lighter case loads than overburdened state public defenders.  That doesn't make them "better" in terms of skill level or dedication, but it often gives them more time to devote to individual cases.  Federal defenders are often better paid than state public defenders and that might be thought to attract better lawyers, but again I think it's impossible to generalize.  Some remarkably good lawyers work as poorly paid public defenders because they feel a duty to help the indigent.

    Parent

    certain "regulatory" offenses (none / 0) (#5)
    by cpinva on Sat Jul 25, 2009 at 10:35:26 PM EST
    deserve criminal prosecution, as opposed to mere fines. if i, as the owner of a petroleum storage facility, fail to meet the regulatory burden imposed on my operation, and people sicken/die as a result, i am no less guilty of negligent homocide than if i had shot a gun in a residential neighborhood and killed someone by accident, or drunkenly drove my car into a pedestrian, killing them.

    others have been harmed by my knowing actions, though that wasn't my intent. why should the harm caused by regulatory infractions be treated as lesser than harm caused by other acts? harm is harm.

    Just trying to save a few dollars! (none / 0) (#6)
    by Fabian on Sun Jul 26, 2009 at 04:47:16 AM EST
    Or make a few!

    The primary purpose of regulation is often to prevent injury and death because individuals and companies often place their narrow self interests over any broader public good.  Skirting regulations is often easier, faster, cheaper and gives them a competitive advantage over others who do comply with the regulations.

    Melamine in Chinese dairy products?  Was the intent to injure and kill babies who drank the infant formula?  No.  Just some capitalists who were trying to make money by diluting raw milk and adding melamine to boost the apparent protein content.

    The motivation often is simple greed - so hit them in the balance sheet first and without apology.  

    Parent