Three Felonies a Day Quotes

“we are in danger of becoming a society in which prosecutors alone become judges, juries and executioners because the threat of high sentences makes it too costly for even innocent people to resist the prosecutorial pressure. That is why nearly all criminal defendants today plead guilty to “reduced” charges rather than risk a trial with draconian sentences in the event of a conviction.”
― Harvey Silverglate, Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

“Every Soviet citizen committed at least three felonies a day, because the criminal statutes were written so broadly as to cover ordinary day-to-day activities. The Communist Party decided whom to prosecute from among the millions of possible criminals. They picked dissidents, refuseniks, and others who posed political dangers to the system. This began under Stalin when his KGB head, Lavrenti Beria, infamously said, “Show me the man and I’ll find you the crime.”
― Harvey A. Silverglate, Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

“It is simply not fair to prosecute someone for a crime that has not been defined until the judicial decision that sends him to jail.”
― Harvey Silverglate, Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

“it is only a slight exaggeration to say that the average busy professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, takes care of personal and family obligations, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she likely committed several federal crimes that day.”
― Harvey Silverglate, Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

“typically sit for 18 months at a stretch,”
― Harvey A. Silverglate, Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

“the principle of fair warning is being violated on a daily basis by current federal prosecutors.”
― Harvey Silverglate, Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

“In Three Felonies a Day, Harvey A. Silverglate zeroes in on governmental misconduct—the brazen abuse by certain federal prosecutors of immense government power for purposes other than justice.”
― Harvey Silverglate, Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.”16”
― Harvey Silverglate, Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

“13 Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964).”
― Harvey Silverglate, Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent