In reforming federal criminal law, intent is key | TheHill - James R. Copland & Rafael Mangual:
November 27, 2015 - "On November 17, the House Judiciary Committee unveiled four bills to address what we and other reformers have called 'over-criminalization.' The first of these, The Criminal Code Improvement Act, was principally sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and bipartisan cosponsors including Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the House’s longest-serving member. The bill sought to clarify federal criminal standards regarding criminal intent. The next day, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced his own, similar criminal justice reform bill.
"On November 18, Sensenbrenner’s bill sailed through committee markup unanimously, but left-wing groups such as ThinkProgress and Public Citizen came out in opposition, falsely characterizing it as a sop to business. The White House followed suit — placing in jeopardy the Obama administration’s stated desire for criminal-justice reform, including changes to federal sentencing laws.
"That’s unfortunate. Over-criminalization, which refers to the vast expansion of what is deemed criminal under law, is a very real concern. The federal criminal code now contains nearly 5,000 crimes and more than 300,000 criminally enforceable regulations. Thus, it is impossible even for trained attorneys, let alone the everyday citizen, to know what may be considered criminal. According to civil-libertarian lawyer Harvey Silvergate, the average American unknowingly commits three felonies a day....
"Traditionally, individuals could be held civilly liable for accidentally transgressing legal norms, but to be criminally convicted, an individual had to have mens rea, Latin for a 'guilty mind.' The federal legal and regulatory codes, however, are now rife with offenses that lack such protections: According to a 2010 study by the Heritage Foundation and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 57 percent of the 446 new nonviolent crimes proposed in the 109th Congress lacked the traditional intent standard, as did 64 percent of those crimes ultimately enacted into law....
"Sensenbrenner’s and Hatch’s bills squarely address this problem by making 'knowing' or 'willful' violations the default rule for criminal violations in federal law: Though Congress may make certain actions criminal without a showing of intent, courts would no longer be permitted to assume that Congress meant to do so unless a statute says so explicitly.....
"Indeed, fourteen states already have statutes that explicitly create a default criminal-intent standard. Ohio most recently enacted such legislation, in December 2014. Like Sensenbrenner’s bill in committee, Ohio’s default criminal-intent act passed both houses of its legislature unanimously, and there is no good reason why there shouldn’t be similarly broad, bipartisan support for the idea at the federal level.
"Reasonable minds can differ about the merits of various federal laws and regulations, but it’s indisputably impossible to navigate 300,000 rules without risk of error.... The White House’s stated opposition aside, let’s hope Congress takes up the new bills — and starts taking criminal intent seriously."
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/judicial/261355-in-reforming-federal-criminal-law-intent-is-key
'via Blog this'
November 27, 2015 - "On November 17, the House Judiciary Committee unveiled four bills to address what we and other reformers have called 'over-criminalization.' The first of these, The Criminal Code Improvement Act, was principally sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and bipartisan cosponsors including Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the House’s longest-serving member. The bill sought to clarify federal criminal standards regarding criminal intent. The next day, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced his own, similar criminal justice reform bill.
"On November 18, Sensenbrenner’s bill sailed through committee markup unanimously, but left-wing groups such as ThinkProgress and Public Citizen came out in opposition, falsely characterizing it as a sop to business. The White House followed suit — placing in jeopardy the Obama administration’s stated desire for criminal-justice reform, including changes to federal sentencing laws.
"That’s unfortunate. Over-criminalization, which refers to the vast expansion of what is deemed criminal under law, is a very real concern. The federal criminal code now contains nearly 5,000 crimes and more than 300,000 criminally enforceable regulations. Thus, it is impossible even for trained attorneys, let alone the everyday citizen, to know what may be considered criminal. According to civil-libertarian lawyer Harvey Silvergate, the average American unknowingly commits three felonies a day....
"Traditionally, individuals could be held civilly liable for accidentally transgressing legal norms, but to be criminally convicted, an individual had to have mens rea, Latin for a 'guilty mind.' The federal legal and regulatory codes, however, are now rife with offenses that lack such protections: According to a 2010 study by the Heritage Foundation and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 57 percent of the 446 new nonviolent crimes proposed in the 109th Congress lacked the traditional intent standard, as did 64 percent of those crimes ultimately enacted into law....
"Sensenbrenner’s and Hatch’s bills squarely address this problem by making 'knowing' or 'willful' violations the default rule for criminal violations in federal law: Though Congress may make certain actions criminal without a showing of intent, courts would no longer be permitted to assume that Congress meant to do so unless a statute says so explicitly.....
"Indeed, fourteen states already have statutes that explicitly create a default criminal-intent standard. Ohio most recently enacted such legislation, in December 2014. Like Sensenbrenner’s bill in committee, Ohio’s default criminal-intent act passed both houses of its legislature unanimously, and there is no good reason why there shouldn’t be similarly broad, bipartisan support for the idea at the federal level.
"Reasonable minds can differ about the merits of various federal laws and regulations, but it’s indisputably impossible to navigate 300,000 rules without risk of error.... The White House’s stated opposition aside, let’s hope Congress takes up the new bills — and starts taking criminal intent seriously."
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/judicial/261355-in-reforming-federal-criminal-law-intent-is-key
'via Blog this'
No comments:
Post a Comment