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Politics & Government

Neighbors and Fellow Americans-You Could be Guilty of 3 Felonies a Day

With all Due Respect to Honest Prosecutors, Feds Can Target the Innocent – Local and State Prosecutors Can Do This Too - Info to Know

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Credits: screen capture of audio book "Three Felonies a Day" via Amazon. Text and collage credit MHProNews' L. A. "Tony" Kovach for the Patch.
Credits: screen capture of audio book "Three Felonies a Day" via Amazon. Text and collage credit MHProNews' L. A. "Tony" Kovach for the Patch.

The following is adapted from a longer report with analysis on MHProNews at this link here.

According to the publisher of “Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent” is the following: “The average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she has likely committed several federal crimes that day. Why? The answer lies in the very nature of modern federal criminal laws, which have exploded in number but also become impossibly broad and vague. In Three Felonies a Day, Harvey A. Silverglate reveals how federal criminal laws have become dangerously disconnected from the English common law tradition and how prosecutors can pin arguable federal crimes on any one of us, for even the most seemingly innocuous behavior. The volume of federal crimes in recent decades has increased well beyond the statute books and into the morass of the Code of Federal Regulations, handing federal prosecutors an additional trove of vague and exceedingly complex and technical prohibitions to stick on their hapless targets. The dangers spelled out in Three Felonies a Day do not apply solely to “white collar criminals,” state and local politicians, and professionals. No social class or profession is safe from this troubling form of social control by the executive branch, and nothing less than the integrity of our constitutional democracy hangs in the balance.”

In the brief for Silverglate’s co-authored book: “Conviction Machine: Standing Up to Federal Prosecutorial Abuse,” it says this. “In 2009, Harvey A. Silverglate, a prominent criminal defense and civil liberties lawyer, published his landmark critique of the federal criminal-justice system, Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent.”

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That intro continues as follows.

“In 2014, Sidney Powell, a former federal prosecutor in three districts under nine United States attorneys from both political parties and who has been lead counsel in 500 federal appeals, published her landmark indictment of the system, Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice, after she witnessed appalling abuses by prosecutors - more than a decade after she entered private practice. Now these two leading authorities combine their knowledge and experience to describe the problems within the Department of Justice and in the federal courts - and to offer solutions.

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Together, Powell and Silverglate shine a light on the defects of the system: overzealous prosecutors, perjury traps, negligent judges, perverse limits on self-defense, vague and overabundant criminal statutes, insufficient requirements for criminal intent, and no accountability for prosecutors. Most important, they provide a much-needed blueprint for reforming the Department of Justice and the criminal-justice system, including actions an average citizen can take to help restore justice.”

There are hundreds of people who have been charged with crimes for wandering into the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Many of them did no damage to property. They may have had the door opened for them by Capitol Police. While some are guilty of more serious offenses, there are good reasons to believe that federal agents and assets were embedded in that crowd of protestors in order to provoke precisely what occurred. Videos and other insights supporting that are linked here.

The 45th President of the United States (POTUS) was accused of fomenting that event, even though there are video recording of him specifically saying that people should go to peacefully and patriotically protest. The right for Americans to protest for a redress of grievances is constitutionally guaranteed. More on that is linked here, but two examples are shown below.

According to left-leaning Google’s AI powered Gemini are the following.

“Key insights from the book:

  • Overcriminalization:

The primary argument is that the sheer volume of federal criminal statutes, including vague and complex regulations, has created a situation where everyday activities can inadvertently violate the law, allowing prosecutors to target almost anyone they choose.

  • Lack of Mens Rea:

Silvergate criticizes the trend of removing the requirement for a "guilty mind" (mens rea) from many federal crimes, meaning someone can be prosecuted even if they did not intend to break the law.

  • Power of Prosecutors:

The book emphasizes the significant power given to federal prosecutors to interpret and apply these laws, potentially leading to selective enforcement against individuals or groups.

  • Impact on Civil Liberties:

Silvergate warns that this overcriminalization significantly undermines individual liberties by creating a climate of fear and uncertainty regarding what constitutes a crime.

  • Examples of "Everyday" Crimes:

The book provides numerous examples of seemingly innocuous activities that could be considered federal crimes, such as exceeding baggage allowances on a flight, unintentionally mislabeling a product, or sharing copyrighted material without proper knowledge.

Criticisms and Considerations:

  • Focus on Federal Law:

While the book focuses primarily on federal crimes, it does not extensively address potential issues with overcriminalization at the state level.

  • Potential for Abuse:

Some critics argue that highlighting the potential for prosecutorial overreach could lead to a decrease in public trust in the legal system.

Overall, "Three Felonies a Day" serves as a critical examination of the issue of overcriminalization in the United States, raising concerns about the potential for arbitrary prosecution and the erosion of individual liberties due to excessively broad and vague criminal laws.”

Note that in 2019 David Harrison via EconLib said the following. “The book is excellent.

The title is horrible. I read through most of the book. True, I skimmed some pages but I looked at every page. Nowhere could I find backup for the book’s title.

Why do I bother making this point? Because at least once a month I see someone on Facebook or elsewhere claim, referencing Silverglate’s book, that the average American commits three felonies a day. It might be true. I doubt that it’s true. I would bet the number is more like three felonies a month. That in itself is horrendous. But that doesn’t justify wildly exaggerating the problem.”

The Simple Justice blog had a similar critique.

After sharing the same blurb from the publisher posted above, that critique said: “Wow. Add to that tease the name Harvey Silverglate, formerly law partner with now Massachusetts District Court Judge Nancy Gertner, as close to defense lawyer royalty as there is, and this is a book you want to read NOW. So when Three Felonies a Day, How the Feds Target the innocent, wound up in my mailbox, I put everything else aside to get right to it.” So, Silverglate is touted as “defense lawyer royalty.” Nevertheless, Scott H. Greenfield for Simply Justice said: “the government could use the broad, vague wealth of laws available to it to go after the most innocuous conduct by ordinary people, the book offers nothing to suggest it actually does.” Pardon me, as a critique of the critique, that isn’t the point.

It may well be so that Silverglate could have done a better job of spelling out the concerns raised by the book’s critics. But what we witnessed in the Donald J. Trump prosecutions launched in advance of the 2024 election is all the proof that is needed that the federal government, or state prosecutors for that matter, can target a person and create charges that result in multiple (three or whatever number) of felonies.

In a post for FEE – the Foundation for Economic Education – Silverglate said the following.

“In the fall of 1989 the communist regimes of Eastern Europe collapsed, and two years later the Soviet Union itself was no more, replaced by Russia and a number of newly independent nations. Communism and its accompanying show trials, gulags, and politically oriented prosecutions, along with the faux legal system that undergirded it, supposedly disappeared.

Perhaps the most chilling quote of the Soviet era came from Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin’s head of the secret police, who bragged, “Show me the man, and I will find you the crime.” Surely, that never could be the case in America; we’re committed to the rule of law and have the fairest justice system in the world.”

“Show me then man, and I will show you the crime,” from Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin’s head of the secret police, is the way that this writer has that quote from Lavrentiy Beria. But the meaning is quite the same. In fact, it was precisely that quote that MHProNews used as part of the discussion for the cases against the deposed and now future President Trump. Those "lawfare" cases could all end up dying, be withdrawn, or reversed.

https://patch.com/florida/lake...

What occurred in New York State, for example, against the former and now President-elect Trump against his business interests is chilling. Several voices across the left-right divide warned against using the law in such a heavy-handed way that it could cause those considering doing business in New York to think twice.

To be crystal clear, this writer for MHProNews' believes in accountability. Yours truly believes in equal justice for all.

But what I don't believe in is targeting an individual and then trying to cook up a crime so that the accused is treated unjustly. That's a Soviet-era tactic. Letitia James said she wanted to take on Trump 6 years ago, per this YouTube video. That's textbook targetting. “Show me then man, and I will show you the crime,” from Lavrentiy Beria, could have been James' campaign slogan.

We don't want to do that in the U.S. Well before the Trump trials, we did reports on the dark nature of such communist-style tactics. The first report linked below is from 6.5.2022.

https://www.manufacturedhomepr...

So, when on August 27, 2023 we posted the article below, it was over a year before the one above that quoted Lavrentiy Beria, the head of the Soviet-era dictator Joseph Stalin's secret police.

https://www.manufacturedhomeli...

If they can do railroad Trump, then a former President and a billionaire, then what chance do others in this country have if they are falsely accused? That is a key point of notable defense attorney Harvey A. Silverglate and his book “Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent.” Targeting and criminalizing normal behavior should not be done to any American. There is more to say on this topic, but that's enough for today. Check back for more behind the curtains and see the related and other reports that follow.

https://patch.com/florida/lake...

https://patch.com/florida/lake...

As a PS: we take poke at Republicans too. In fact, I'm preparring a report on a specific goof by a different GOP senator that isn't going to make most news, but the plan is to share it here and on MHProNews. Stay tuned.

https://patch.com/florida/lake...


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L. A. “Tony” Kovach is a publisher who has earned multiple awards in history. He and his family live in a manufactured home on private property in Winter Haven, FL. He is the co-founder of ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com (MHLivingNews.com) andManufacturedHomeProNews.com (MHProNews.com), trade publications serving segments of the manufactured home industry. Having worked in several segments of the manufactured home industry for over 3 decades, Kovach is a widely acknowledged and often praised expert on manufactured housing. ###

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