The usual knock on legislatures and Congress is that there are too many lawyers involved.

But maybe there aren’t enough.

Recent changes in Indiana’s sentencing requirements, penalties for drug offenses, and the criminal code have to make one wonder if the state might have been better off if — at some point — our lawmakers had consulted with someone who actually practices law.

Take, for instance, the changes to the criminal code when it comes to the matter of theft.

That ought to be straightforward. Something belonged to Person A, it was alleged to have been stolen by Person B; prove it and somebody goes to jail.

Under the old criminal code, that’s the way it worked. All the state had to prove was the act of theft.

But our lawmakers, in their infinite wisdom, have added a complication.

Now, they say, the state has to prove the value of the item or items stolen.

Was the HDTV lifted out of Walmart by some miscreants on a Sunday night worth $800? Or was it worth $700? Worse yet, was it worth $749.99?

The latest tweak to the criminal code sets different tiers for theft offenses, and a theft of something worth more than $750 is a bigger deal than a theft of something under $750.

If you think that sounds as if it might be a huge pain in the neck for police officers and prosecutors, you are exactly right.

As Jay County Prosecutor Wes Schemenaur put it, juries and judges won’t just be asked to determine theft, they’ll have to become appraisers as well.

If you happen to be a defense attorney, this looks like pretty easy pickings.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, one might ask, was that big screen TV really worth more than $750? Or should it have been on sale for $699?

Our guess is that it will take months and dozens of cases before this begins to be sorted out.

And it’s all completely unnecessary.

If the Indiana General Assembly had considered the potential unintended consequences of its actions, it could have been avoided.

Of course, in Indiana we like to pride ourselves on having a “citizen legislature.”

Fair enough. But wouldn’t it be nice if those “citizen legislators” did their homework first before scrambling the criminal code?
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