State v. Hollinrake

“Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.” Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 485, 48 S.Ct. 564, 575, 72 L.Ed. 944, 960 (1928) (Brandéis, J., dissenting). Sheriff Edward Hollinrake became a law unto himself, as Justice Brandéis feared, when he falsified public documents in order to obtain money for unauthorized purposes. After his guilty plea, the court ordered Hollinrake to pay restitution which included the costs of an audit of the sheriffs records. The audit was…