Everyone's heard of the crime-of-passion or heat-of-passion criminal defense that has been used by an accused killer to explain why he killed his lover.

But the lovesickness defense for breaching airport security will come as news to a lot of people.

The lawyer for the man who shut down a terminal at Newark Airport in January after he slipped past the security checkpoint in order to give his traveling girlfriend a last kiss goodbye says his client's sin was that he loved too much if not wisely, to paraphrase Shakespeare.

A lawyer for a Rutgers University graduate student charged with a January security breach at Newark Liberty Airport that led to worldwide flight delays entered a plea of not guilty Tuesday and defended his client as "simply a lovesick man who made a mistake."

Haisong Jiang's lawyer, Eric Bruce, entered the plea in Municipal Court to a charge of defiant trespassing. The misdemeanor charge carries a fine of up to $500. Bruce also sought a delay to review surveillance video and any statements Jiang made to authorities.

Authorities say Jiang entered a restricted area at the airport Jan. 3 to see off his girlfriend. The breach shut down a busy terminal, delayed or canceled about 200 flights around the world, affected an estimated 16,000 travelers and may have cost airlines millions of dollars as the terminal was emptied and passengers were rescreened.

Not that I wish any great punishment be heaped on Haisong if he's found guilty but It seems something of a disconnect that someone could be accused of trespass at an airport, of ignoring the directions of a federal Transportation Security Agency officer, and only be charged with a misdemeanor and face at most a $500 fine. Take into account the monetary losses and inconvenience Haisong created, and the mismatch seems even larger.

Given all the huffing and puffing the Homeland Security Department and other law enforcement agencies do when it comes to airport security, one would expect the penalties to be a lot more severe.

 

But the penalties evidently haven't kept up with changing views of airport security. Apparently, 9/11 didn't really change everything after all.

According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association website, Michigan had a law dating back to 1945 that was similar to New Jersey's.

Michigan's legislature passed a law boosting the penalties. It took effect in 2007. The toughened Michigan penalties include a $1,000 fine and up to one year in prison.