Beshukova Z.M. Responsibility for hate crimes in the criminal law of the United States: legislative and law enforcement aspects

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the issues of regulation of responsibility in the United States criminal law for crimes that are recognized by the Russian legislation as crimes of extremism. The author examines the criminal legal norms that regulate the issues of responsibility for crimes committed on the grounds of hate, as well as the practice of application of criminal legislation in the area of counteraction of such crimes. The article analyzes approach of the American legislator towards the issue of criminalizing actions that according to Russian legislation fall under crimes in the Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The United States is one of the most liberal legislations in the world from the perspective of freedom of expression and freedom of speech. It forms a completely different legal and political approach towards the problem of proclamation of hate than in practically any other country: US has a strong tradition of freedom of speech that covers even the most insulting statements. The position of the American legislator consists in the adherence to the doctrine of minimal restriction of freedom of speech, which is substantiated by the positions of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.   

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