Written by: Jo Ann L.B. Duggins

Name: Richard Smith Age: 26 Residence: Cornwall, England Currently Listening to: My girlfriend's family as they chat over their dinner table as I write this.

Using the force of my trusty Stumble toolbar, I was intrigued to find this duo in my search for interesting personas. Rick Smith along with accomplice Luke Bateman set out on a journey through the U.S. breaking inane, antiquated laws. I found this interesting because a) I had no idea these laws existed and b) that someone from another country would take it upon themselves to come here to actually break them. I also just find it utterly amusing and fun and when the hell do we Americans have fun anymore?! I decided to contact Mr Smith in hopes he would answer my questions about his crime breaking venture and he was kind enough to respond. Roll over the pics to find out what laws were broken.

What spawned the idea for you to take on this project? A board game got me interested in the country's strange laws and a love of travel made me think how amusing it would be to break the laws for real. Also, most of the laws were in 'small-town America' which I love as I tend to be the only Englishman there within a 50-mile radius. Who was your partner in crime and how did you choose them? I decided to take my friend Luke Bateman along with me. For one reason, he's quite big and good for protection. He also doesn't mind how much he racks up on his credit card. That's why he had to declare himself bankrupt upon our return! Why did you choose the states you did? The route was decided by the best types of laws, and a route which would take us from the west coast to the east without any huge and unnecessary detours. What was your favorite law to break? Which one was the most difficult? My favourite law to break involved playing cards with a Native American in Globe, Arizona. Partly because I had gotten off to quite a bad start with a few unsuccessful law breakings, and because the Native American I found was one of the nicest guys I have ever met. The most difficult was probably flying a kite in Washington DC. They are very strict about objects entering their airspace. But, more importantly, due to the lack of shops in the capital, I had to make one! Did you interview any government officials to ask them about ridding their states of these laws? The closest I got to asking state officials about ridding these laws was entering libraries to check the laws out in their ordinance books. I'm sure state officials have more important things to do with their time than to be bothered by the likes of me. Were there many reactions to your breaking these laws? I was held at gunpoint by cops in Chicago just after I had fished in my pyjamas. However, this had nothing to do with the silly law I broke; it was due to the fact I had a Cornish flag on the parcel shelf of my car. They thought it was a gangland symbol and we were members. Were there any that you didn't feel you shouldn't break? Were there any laws I didn't feel I shouldn't have broken? That's all of them isn't it? You have two other books involving Europe...what were some of those laws like? The same book is released in Germany. I'm not quite sure what the laws in Europe are like. I know they won't be half as bizarre as the ones you find Stateside. Any plans for more projects? Say in Singapore or the Middle East, heh? The Middle East? I'd return with less limbs than which I'd left wouldn't I? For future plans, I have just returned home from a 2-month spell in the States for another book. I'm deciding to do questionnaires like this instead of facing the prospect of beginning to write it. (I'm so flattered) Who's your favorite person in history and why? I would have to say Charles Darwin. At a time when the cultural and national belief in Christianity and the church was far stronger than it is today, he broke from the norm, documented his theory of evolution, and, in my opinion, proved the creation theory to be completely false. To find out more information on Rick Smith's book, "You Can Get Arrested for That", please visit Rick's Site or the Random House page for the book. back to motion