Crimes Most Frequently Committed From Ignorance of the Law

Of all the violations of the law that I regard as sobering and tragic, crimes committed unknowingly by otherwise-law-abiding persons who are ignorant of the law may well rank at the very top.

For that reason, and partly because my own independent religion emphasizes consistent obedience of the law, I have chosen to establish a blog I'll be updating from time to time that cites the state and federal laws that Texans are most likely to violate without their being aware of it:

--If you receive 20 letters in your mailbox that were each addressed to the same cited person other than yourself (or any other member of your household, for that matter), and if you write "incorrect address" and forward that letter to the Postal Service 19 consecutive times, but after receiving the yet another letter with that same person's name cited as recipient on a 20th occasion, you then toss that 20th letter into a trash can either out of exasperation (no forwarding address was apparently provided by the recipient, you note with frustration) or absent-mindedly, you have allegedly committed a federal offense. That violation of federal law is mail tampering, a Balcones Post Office staff member named Stephanie stated to me on the telephone on March 21, 2009.

--The crime of complicity in crime. If you happen to know or believe that someone else has committed a crime, but you choose not to share that information you are privy to with a law-enforcement agency, you may possibly be guilty of a form of complicity in crime, since you allegedly withheld pertinent criminal-law evidence from a law-enforcement agency.

--Many adult Texans are apparently unaware that they are in fact prohibited by state law from themselves ever romantically dating or having carnal relations with any person who is under 17 years of age. (In other states, such as New York, for instance, state law reportedly prohibits any adult person from romantically dating or having carnal relations with any person who is under 18 years of age.)