On the verge of releasing my first legal thriller, I've been thinking (and researching) more about the law than ever.
A wave of lawlessness over the summer had violent crime increasing dramatically. People are afraid. And not just in big cities. Car jacking crimes are particularly on the rise. Organized burglary crews brazenly commit coordinated "smash and grab" crimes in high-end stores. Street takeover crimes are increasing. Train cars are looted with impunity. Everywhere, criminals are bolder, less fearful of prosecution.
Ineffectual laws encourage such a situation. California laws drastically weakened the penalties for shoplifting. In my home state of Illinois, the "Safe-T" act (nicknamed "catch and release" by its detractors) passed the legislature, was signed by Governor Pritzker, and will go into effect the first of the year. The law, at the discretion of the judge, allows people accused of violent crimes (including second-degree murder) to be released without having to post cash bail.
So, laws can be inexcusably weak, and yet other laws are excessive, unevenly applied, and unfair. Laws that allow gigantic multinational companies to pay no federal income tax. An Oklahoma mother of four receiving a twelve-year prison sentence for a $31 marijuana sale. Extreme mandatory sentences for minor offenses.
Laws are often so broadly written that they have the unintended consequence of harming people the laws were never intended for. Often laws, especially at the national level, are written by corporate lobbyists because the legislators are too busy raising funds for their re-election efforts. I read a book recently that said there are so many laws on the books that the average American commits three felonies a month without even realizing it.
The FBI shows up at your door. They ask questions. You want to help. But you're nervous. Maybe your memory is not so good. Maybe you should request a lawyer—but that might look bad. Anyway, you say the wrong thing.
But that's not how the FBI will view it.
You have just provided them with an opportunity to indict you for lying to a federal officer. Maximum penalty—five years in federal prison.
There are over 4,000 federal crimes alone. Are you sure you haven't broken any of them? And ignorantia juris non excusat. "Ignorance of the law excuses not."
Imagine you're arrested and charged. Rather than go to trial, the prosecutor offers you a deal, a plea bargain. If you go to trial, you can get 40 years. If you plead guilty, you'll receive 18 months. Who is going to roll the dice facing such a drastic penalty for going to trial? So, people often plead guilty even though they're innocent. In the United States, 95% of people charged with a crime plead guilty. Surely, a lot of them are guilty, but the excessive sentences prosecutors propose should they go to trial certainly causes many innocent people to plead guilty.
The effect of such injustices—the United States has 5% of the world's population and 20% of its prisoners.
So, do we need more laws? Less laws? Better laws? These are ongoing questions that will never be fully answered, but questions that nevertheless direly need to be addressed.
