Government

It Will Be Hard To Solve These Cases Of Supermarket Theft By Locking The Goods Behind The Counter

While it is easier to bring your own reusable shopping bags, can you honestly say that is as fun?

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Reusable Green Shopping Bag with Path

Yeah I don’t have time for those – People from New Jersey (Image via Getty)

Crim Law professors love talking about the flashy stuff in their classes: arson, murder, felony murder, what have you. I don’t blame them — I’d take a lecture on the McNaughton rule over a bankruptcy recap any time. There was one area of law I wish my Crim Professor spent more than a quick breather on: entrapment.

Entrapment traditionally refers to when an officer or some law enforcer offers a perverse incentive that gets otherwise law abiding citizens to break a law or two. Maybe 1Ls this year will get that opportunity I wish I had when their teachers talk about the thefts New Jersey is causing in supermarkets.

In May, New Jersey implemented the strictest carryout bag ban in the nation, outlawing plastic bags of any thickness with the exception of plastic bags used for fresh vegetables, deli meats and baked goods. Paper bags at supermarkets, and other stores with large grocery departments, are not allowed either.

Customers were forced to bring their own bags to the store or buy a reusable one at the checkout line.

Now listen. I’m not saying they’re right… but I understand. California has a reputation of being one of the greenest states in the Union. Even they still offer you paper or plastic… for now. I know that it is cool to be on the cutting edge of saving the environment, we have obligations to future generations, whatever, but nobody likes that sad trek back to your car as you load raw goods into the back of your Toyota. And as important as it is to make environmental amends, stores are going to quickly get fed up of having to make do.

Some grocers are ordering more while others are considering doing away with the baskets, Doherty said.

…

This has happened in other states and municipalities with bag bans, she said. “It’s not a new trend,” she said.

ShopRite spokesperson Karen O’Shea said some stores have experienced the loss of handbaskets in the wake of the single-use bag ban.

I personally think that this bagless trend is just a ploy by Maplebear Inc. to get Jersey folks addicted to using Instacart. Can I prove it? No, but I’m sticking to my intuition.

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New Jersey Banned Plastic Bags. So, People Are Stealing Grocery Store Shopping Baskets [USA Today]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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