Do you believe that violations of the Constitution of the United States should be criminalized?

Most violations are in fact legislative acts (when congress passes a law that ends up being ruled unconstitutional). This cannot be criminalized as such a law would itself be unconstitutional (congress has immunity for legislative actions and statements made from the floor).

Other constitutional violations (unreasonable searches for example) are usually not crimes. However, you can sue if your constitutional rights have been violated. See 42 USC 1983.

I assume you are talking about violations of individual rights since that is the only way this question makes a little bit of sense.

The constitution prohibits the federal govenrment from violating certain rights of the states and of individuals. Through the 14th Amendment it prohibits the states (and their political subdivisions) from violating certain rights of individuals.

So I guess you are asking whether the federal government and state governments should be criminally responsible for their violations of individual rights. This is not only conceptually impossible there is a practical problem.

How are you going to punish the federal government---imprison some officials? Make them pay a fine to themselves? Same problem with holding state's criminally responsible.

Legally there is also a doctrine of sovereign immunity. The government can not be held criminally liable. And it would violate the constituition to hold states criminally liable.

Now indiviudals (like police officers) can be held criminally liable for certain civil rights violations. But these are based up statutes--not the constitution.

The constitution only provides the basic elements in the governance of the state. Specific laws such as the Penal Law provides for the punishment of crimes. Thus, the constitution need not criminalize it violations because the abuses are dealt with in specific laws.

They can be criminalized. Generally ME as an individual cannot violate anyones Constitutional rights. ME as a police officer can because then I am acting as an agent of the STATE, the government. If you can show that there was a conspiracy to knowingly and systematically deny individuals their Consititutional rights and I was the guy running that show at that government agency, then I can be held accountable and jailed for it.

Dear, there are too many ways in which people's inadvertent behaviour can be criminalised already, and now you want to add one more way? Do you realise that when the number of laws which a country has on its statute books reaches about 17,000, you can't but help breaking the law? Per capita the United States of America is already the country with the highest prison population on earth, exceeding even Russia and China.

P.S.: I agree that Becky C's answer is most informative, and the 10 points should go to her.

How can the government criminalize a truth, or one of a persons rights, or a violation off. What else is on your mind.

If it was...there would be police in jail....judges in jail....politicians in jail....just criminalizing any violation could potentially be abused.

If that were the case GW would be in alot of trouble......Unfortunatly its not the case and we as sheep suffer....