Over-Criminalization bill targets obscure federal regulatory offenses

U.S. Reps. Tom Rooney (R-FL) and Cedric Richmond (D-LA) introduced the Stopping Over-Criminalization Act this week, in an effort to protect U.S. citizens from unfair incarceration under federal regulatory offenses that carry criminal penalties.

“With hundreds of thousands of regulatory crimes hidden throughout the federal code, how on earth can we expect individuals and small businesses to know these laws, understand them and comply with them?” Rooney, a former prosecutor in the U.S. Army JAG Corps and a former professor of constitutional and criminal law at West Point, said. “Our bipartisan bill will help reduce the size, scope and complexity of the federal criminal code, so that hard-working Americans don’t have to worry that an honest mistake could land them in prison.”

“With the prison population growing at an exponential rate, we must address all of the factors that have led to mass incarceration,” Richmond, a member of the House Judiciary Committee and a former defense attorney, said. “Our criminal code has exploded to the point that it is impossible for most Americans to even begin to understand all of the things that could land them in prison. This legislation would take steps toward bringing order to our criminal justice system and ensuring that citizens don’t find themselves behind bars for honest mistakes.”
 
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) estimates that there are at least 300,000 federal regulations scattered throughout the federal code that include criminal penalties. Many of these regulatory laws are ambiguous and difficult to understand, leading to convictions of individuals for crimes that most people do not even know existed. This legislation would help ensure honest mistakes do not result in federal prison sentences.