For centuries, a bedrock principle of criminal law has held that people must know they are doing something wrong before they can be found guilty. The concept is known as mens rea, Latin for a "guilty mind."
Federal Offenses
This legal protection is now being eroded as the U.S. federal criminal code dramatically swells. In recent decades, Congress has repeatedly crafted laws that weaken or disregard the notion of criminal intent. Today not only are there thousands more criminal laws than before, but it is easier to fall afoul of them.
As a result, what once might have been considered simply a mistake is now sometimes punishable by jail time.
Hell, in Massachusetts the threshold is so low you can win in court and still have to pay a fine!
It's nice to see that the State no longer has to worry about little things like actually getting a guilty verdict. And guess what would happen if you failed to pay the fine, despite having a court prove you committed no crime.
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