"The other way to do is to pass general 'catch-all' laws. Something like the 'obstruction of justice', or 'looking suspicious'. Combine that with total surveilance and selective enforcement and you have a perfect police state."<p>My favorite is "mopery". <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mopery" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mopery</a><p>When a co-worker (ex-cop) told me about this, I nearly died laughing at the insane genius of such a thing.  He said that, basically, a cop could <i>always</i> find some reason to roust someone they didn't care for, even if in the long run the charge didn't stick.