Government-Creep: You Are A Criminal In So Many Ways
Jarret Skorup and Geneva Ruppert write at Michigan Capitol Confidential about what I just named government-creep -- how people can be prosecuted for breaking ridiculous laws they don't know exist:

Lisa Snyder's neighbors had children and early starts at work. She was happy to watch their kids until the school bus arrived in the morning -- until she was threatened with penalties for running an unlicensed child care service.

Alan Taylor needed more parking at his growing business and thought he had received all the proper permits to expand the lot on his property. But the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality successfully prosecuted him for jeopardizing a wetland he didn't know existed.

Kenneth Schumacher got rid of some scrap tires at what turned out to be an unlicensed disposal facility. Though he didn't intend to break the law, he was sentenced to 270 days in jail and a fine of $10,000.

Michigan has over 3,000 felonies and misdemeanors on the books -- far more than the average resident could possibly remember. Obvious crimes, like murder or theft, make up some of these statutes, but more of them cover actions such as "transporting Christmas trees without a manifest" or burning grass clippings or leaves in certain areas.

These laws are especially dangerous to ordinary people because 26 percent of Michigan's felonies and 59 percent of its misdemeanors don't specify criminal intent. This means that people who never intended to break the law may be (and often are) prosecuted for crimes they had no idea they committed.

That's "mens rea" -- having a "guilty mind"; an intent to commit a crime -- which has been removed from consideration.

It's serious stuff when a man goes to jail -- is put in a cage -- and fined, and over disposing scrap tires a facility he had no idea was unlicensed. (What, are we supposed to check a business's paperwork when we patronize it? So, every time you go to 7-Eleven, Target, a bike shop on the boulevard?)

These laws can be used to squash speech and in other nefarious ways (beyond their mere nefarious existence).

More from the piece on possible reforms -- and how sick that they are needed:

To fix this problem, the Michigan Legislature is considering adding intent provisions to laws that currently lack one, with two bills before the Senate Judiciary Committee. House Bill 4713 passed the state House unanimously and would establish that if a law does not indicate a "culpable mental state" the prosecution must show that a person violated a law "purposely, knowingly or recklessly." This bill exempts certain sections of Michigan code.

Senate Bill 20 is similar, but would only apply to future laws. Because there are so many laws and regulations already, proponents of criminal intent reform prefer a bill that is strong going forward but also applies to laws on the books. Neither of these bills eliminates crimes; they merely clarify the standard of intent needed in a prosecution.

These reforms would not allow a Michigander to get out of a larceny charge by claiming ignorance of the law, but they would make it less likely for him to do jail time for catching a fish he didn't realize was protected, or being smacked with hefty fines for failing to properly display a camping license on his tent.

The prohibitions against operating "day care" in one's home -- or watching one's neighbors' kids so mom can get off to work on time -- mainly hurt poor women who are struggling to make ends meet without going on public assistance. (They aren't so good for middle-class women, either.)

Harvey Silverglate's book on how we're all criminals now: Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent.

via @instapundit