"...Congress’ lack of time and resources has led to the passage of laws that are poorly crafted and add new crimes to the federal books.
This feeds into the problem of overcriminalization—the trend of using criminal laws to penalize minor mistakes and fix every problem in society.
The late Justice Antonin Scalia discussed this problem in his dissenting opinion in Sykes v. United States (2011):
This feeds into the problem of overcriminalization—the trend of using criminal laws to penalize minor mistakes and fix every problem in society.
The late Justice Antonin Scalia discussed this problem in his dissenting opinion in Sykes v. United States (2011):
"We face a Congress that puts forth an ever-increasing volume of laws in general, and of criminal laws in particular. It should be no surprise that as the volume increases, so do the number of imprecise laws. … Fuzzy, leave-the-details-to-be-sorted-out-by-the-courts legislation is attractive to the congressman who wants credit for addressing a national problem but does not have the time (or perhaps the votes) to grapple with the nitty-gritty. In the field of criminal law, at least, it is time to call a halt."
Scalia observed two problems in the legislative process that are implicated in the poll: the “volume” of laws and the “details” they contain.
http://dailysignal.com/2017/09/20/rushed-legislation-thriving-industry-washington-criminal-code-suffers-result/
http://dailysignal.com/2017/09/20/rushed-legislation-thriving-industry-washington-criminal-code-suffers-result/