Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 a lucid and powerful indictment of federal criminal law enforcement September 22, 2009
Malick Ghachem (Cambridge, MA)
90 out of 93 found this review helpful
This is a very thoughtful and vigorously argued book about the injustices that arise when prosecutors seek to expand the reach of federal criminal statutes beyond their proper field of application. The author has litigated many of the cases he discusses, and is able to translate the complexities of that experience intelligently and without condescension, but also without all of the unnecessary technical details that lawyers writing for a general audience sometimes get bogged down in. Harvey Silverglate is an institution in his own right: a tireless advocate for civil liberties, prolific writer, and astute student of the law, there are few people who have a stronger commitment to illuminating the practical workings of the criminal justice system and their relationship to broader currents in the law. This is a must-read for those interested in criminal law, civil liberties, and the recent history of the Department of Justice, by a writer who has the courage of his convictions and voices them powerfully and well.
Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent November 1, 2009
Michael A. Fox
44 out of 45 found this review helpful
Harvey Silverglate does an extraordinary job analyzing the erosion of rights and the risks it carries to liberty in America in his book, Three Felonies a Day, How the Feds Target the Innocent.
This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the preservation of liberty and putting a check on the encroachment of the federal government in the every day lives of citizens.
He shows how the Department of Justice has led a steady march to expand their reach into the lives of ordinary Americans. The result? Panoply of laws giving them the right to prosecute just about anyone for anything at will.
Their broad application of the Deprivation of Honest Services Statutes in White Collar Crime and a host of other legal gymnastics give them a club every bit as powerful as the Soviet Union at the height of its power. In the Soviet Union and other dictatorships the tools of federalization of all crimes and trampling liberties usually reside in what is commonly called "Defamation Statutes."
Mr. Silverglate identifies numerous laws and Department of Justice interpretations and applications that give them authority rivaling the Soviet Union in its heyday. This boils down to a scandalous use of the federal instruments of powers residing in the executive branch at the Department of Justice that go unchecked.
For anyone who cares about liberty I recommend this book. It is makes a powerful contribution to the cause of justice and freedom and ranks as a modern day call to action equal to Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense published in 1776.
Mr. Siverglate brings current day threats to our liberties into focus just as Mr. Paine brought the need for the American Revolution into focus in 1776. For Mr. Paine liberty and freedom's enemy resided in King George of England; to Mr. Silverglate it can be found in a runaway Department of Justice intent on expanding its power to intrude and reach into the life of every American.
Thought provoking, brilliant and scary October 23, 2009
K. Unger (New York, NY USA)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
This book was recommended by a Federal Judge at a conference on ethics. It is a scary, insightful indictment of criminal prosecutions and the growing trend of prosecutors and judges encroaching on the legislative branch's power to enact laws through manipulation and overreaching interpretations of vague federal laws. It is not only a MUST read, but it is a MUST act upon as well. Kudos Silverglate!
If You Haven't Already Lost All Faith in the Federal Government, This Will Do the Trick November 13, 2009
Tammy McArdle (Southern California)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
The premise is, because of increasingly vague and over-reaching federal statutes, any one of us is committing an average of three felonies a day without even realizing it. In other words, the Feds can pretty much choose their targets FIRST (for whatever reason... vengeance, political gain, to pressure you to testify against a "bigger fish," monetary gain or simply to advance their own careers) and figure out what to indict you on later.
Even if you haven't committed a crime, by the time the DOJ is finished freezing your assets (so you can't afford adequate defense), harass your friends and family (to get them to turn on you... and even threaten them with their own indictments), feed false information to the media and ruin your reputation, career, social life, etc., you're going to want to plea bargain... no matter how innocent you are.
Three felonies a day February 1, 2010
Benjamin J. Viloski (OAK ISLAND, NC, US)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Every judge should read this book as well as all the members of congress!! We are at a critical point in the history of this country in regards to legislating laws on the federal level. We cannot go on like this or we will destroy the very basic meaning of the constitution as it applies to individuals. Laws are not meant to be prosecutor friendly and innocent people are at risk for the betterment of the prosecutors in this country of ours. Better that a guilty person goes free then thousands of innocent Americans succumb to the whims of the prosecutors making a name for themselves. No one can afford to defend themselves under such a system. The Congress is guilty of failing to understand what they vote on and what authority they give to the executive branch of government. READ the book! It is written in black and white!!! The legislation is not only not clear it is vAgue and discretionary and applicable to innocent Americans and especially congress persons.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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