The Midnight Rambler // Alfred Spellman

Legal experts say there are more than 4,450 federal crimes on the books and as many as 300,000 federal regulations that can be enforced criminally. From 2000 to 2007, Congress created 452 entirely new crimes — that’s more than a crime a week, said Brian Walsh, a senior legal research fellow at The Heritage Foundation who focuses on overcriminalization. “It used to be a grave statement to say someone was making a `federal case’ out of something,” Walsh said told lawmakers. “Today, although the penalties are severe and frequently harsh, the underlying conduct punished is often laughable.”