September 17 is Constitution Day, the anniversary of the 1787 signing by delegates to the Philadelphia Convention of the document that still governs us. This bulwark richly merits the ceremonies and civics lessons that mark the day. The Constitution, however, is not a museum piece. It is a living set of limits on government power, and the best way to honor it is to enforce it.
The gap between constitutional promise and daily reality is nowhere more urgent to close than in criminal justice, where government power is most concentrated, and the consequences of its abuse are most severe. Here are five places where it must close.
Rein in the federal criminal code
Congress has certain enumerated powers in the Constitution. Criminal law is not one of them; the Framers left that largely to the states. Yet Congress has enacted more than 5,000 federal criminal statutes, and federal agencies have added an estimated 300,000 regulatory offenses with criminal penalties. Walk a dog through a national park on a leash longer than six feet, or pick up a molted hawk feather off a hiking trail, and you have committed a federal offense.
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