Overcriminalization
Overcriminalization is the concept that criminalization has become excessive, meaning that an excessive number of laws and regulations deeming conduct illegal have a detrimental effect on society, particularly with respect to victimless crimes and actions which make conduct illegal without criminal intent on the part of the individual. == Origins and definition == Erik Luna credits the coining of the term to Sanford Kadish in his 1962 paper "Legal Norm and Discretion in the Police and Sentencing Process." Kadish described “criminal statutes which seem deliberately to overcriminalize, in the sense of encompassing conduct not the target of legislative concern.” Luna provided his own definition of the term in 2005, describing overcriminalization as "the abuse of the supreme force of a criminal justice system—the implementation of crimes or imposition of sentences without justification" His definition of the concept was broader than Kadish's, extending overcriminalization beyond individual laws and describing it as a phenomenon that can manifest in 6 different ways: "(1) untenable offenses; (2) superfluous statutes; (3) doctrines that overextend culpability; (4) crimes without jurisdictional authority; (5) grossly disproportionate punishments; and (6) excessive or pretextual enforcement of petty violations." Some areas of behavior that are commonly argued as overcriminalized are: Vice crimes (such as drinking, gambling or sex work) some financial crimes (such as violations of anti-trust laws), and some exploitation of conspiracy or RICO charges.