http://www.heritage.org/issues/legal/overcriminalization
Legal Issues
Overcriminalization
- See the Map of Americans’ Liberties Threatened
- Factsheet on Overcriminalization
- The Government vs. YOU
- What Criminal Law Reforms Has Congress Proposed?
- Principles for Revising the Criminal Code
See the Map of Americans’ Liberties Threatened
Heritage has documented dozens of overcriminalization stories, now compiled in one easy-to-use map Read More.
Reports
Blog Posts
- Felony Shrub-Trimming: San Diego Man Criminally Charged for Pruning Plants The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office filed felony vandalism charges against 46-year-old Ocean Beach,...… Read more
- “Help Make It Stop”: Victims Testify About How Overcriminalization Ruins Lives “I feel like an apology is due.” That’s how Representative Louis Gohmert (R–TX) addressed Lawrence Lewis and Joyce...… Read more
- The Motor City Wants Your Car Back: Civil Forfeiture in Detroit To most Americans, attending a party at a downtown art institute is a fun, cultural experience. But for the 130 people...… Read more
- Fishing as a Felony: Teen Faces Prison Time for Leaving Fishing Equipment in High School Parking Lot The “zero tolerance” idiot parade marches on, leaving innocent people in its wake. This time, it’s a teenage...… Read more
- “Bang, Bang,” You’re Suspended: Second-Grader Sent Home for Carrying Invisible Gun Just when you thought gun-fearing “educators” couldn’t get any sillier. Last week, it was a couple of teenagers...… Read more
- Don't Film Me, Bro!: Officer Confiscates Cell Phone, Prevents Wife from Videotaping Her Husband's Arrest It was her cell phone. She was on her property. And they were handcuffing her husband on the ground. Yet when Heather...… Read more
- “Zero Tolerance” Zombies: Seventh Graders Suspended for Playing with Toy Gun It didn’t look like a real gun. It shot plastic pellets. It was labeled “Zombie Killer.” It didn’t hurt anyone. And it...… Read more
- Hard Time for Chalk Crime It may or may not be true that, as some seem to believe, not a single cop in the history of the… Read more
- Is a Gun Loaded If the Bullets Are Beside It? For proof that prosecutors will apply laws in ways that are at odds with societal expectations, look no further than...… Read more
- Making Crime Fighting a Team Effort: Cross-Designating Federal Law Enforcement Officers as State Officers The Heritage Foundation has long criticized the phenomenon of overcriminalization[1] and has offered several solutions to the problems that overcriminalization causes.[2] This… Read more
- Zero Dark Giggles: Baby Deer Gets the SWAT Team Treatment An otherwise quiet day in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was interrupted by the shrill sound of police sirens. Thirteen armed law...… Read more
- Missed Paying One Ticket? Go Directly to Jail She was handcuffed and hauled to the police station. She was fingerprinted and photographed. She was interrogated. She...… Read more
- Flashing Headlights as a Felony: Why Helping Reduce Crime Shouldn’t Be Criminal Most people have probably done it. Some, if pressed, might concede that it isn’t the right thing to do. But most...… Read more
- “Sauce for the Goose Is Sauce for the Gander”: Treating Private Parties and Government Officials Alike Under the Criminal Law While Congress is principally responsible for overcriminalization,[1] the federal courts deserve their share of the blame.[2] In their readiness to interpret federal… Read more
- Why Florida Police Shouldn’t Have Arrested a Gator for Barking at a Dog Most people would agree that deliberately interfering with ongoing police investigations should be illegal. In that...… Read more
- Arrested for a Life Vest: When Good Intentions Make Bad Law Erika Doring has devoted her life and career to children. She was a counselor with child protective services for 10...… Read more
- Writing with Sidewalk Chalk Can Earn You Hard Time? Jeff Olson has no criminal record, has hurt no one, and has done no significant damage to anyone’s property. And he...… Read more
- Diverted from the Straight and Narrow Path for Diverting Sewage After decades of striving to obey the law and teaching his children to do the same, Lawrence Lewis turned to crime....… Read more
- D.C. Police to Scalpers: One Strike and You’re Jailed Ordering the police to arrest every lawbreaker, no matter how trivial the offense or harmless the offender, appeals to...… Read more
- D.C. Metro to “Phantom Planter”: Stop Planting Flowers, Or Else! “It’s sort of beyond the scope of what you would imagine some private citizen would do,” said Washington, D.C., Metro...… Read more
