Boom in federal crimes undermines the rule of law
“With so many different laws on the books,” Eli Lehrer, president of R Street, wrote for The Hill in 2019, “clever and determined prosecutors can threaten decades in prison for acts that may amount to simple bad judgment.” Indeed, given that the Supreme Court has sanctioned the erosion of constitutional protections against double jeopardy, the expansion of the federal code — which often overlaps with state laws — makes it more likely that defendants may be charged twice with the same crime.
