To make as many charges as possible against an offender: “You may have gotten off lightly in the past, Benny, but this time we're going to throw the book at you.”
To impose a severe punishment, esp to assign a maximum sentence to a criminal; treat mercilessly: If he catches you one more time he'll throw the book at you
[1932+; fr the image of a judge throwing the whole lawbook full of punishment indiscriminately at the convicted person]