Start with the observation that American law is not designed to catch and punish every instance of illegal conduct. Nothing short of a totalitarian state could do that. It is designed to prosecute persons when there is a reasonable basis for believing they have committed a crime, and then to convict them when there is no reasonable doubt that they are guilty.
Dale Carpenter, Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas
2012, jurisprudence, law, police-state