Inside Criminal Law

Inside Criminal Law

INSIDE CRIMINAL LAW

      What is crime?   It is a wrong against society that is punishable by law.   It’s a cut and dried explanation and is the only explanation across the country.   What is not the same are the degrees of the crime and the punishment of the crime.   This differs from state to state, as long as it does not interfere with the U.S. Constitution.

      The purposes of criminal law are to control crime, to prevent crime, and to maintain justice.   There are two functions of criminal law, one is to Protect and Punish and the other is to Maintain and Teach.   The first purpose, protect and punish, protects citizens’ safety and their property.   It is also used to protect citizens from harm concerning unsafe food and consumer products.   It punishes the people who have broken the law (retribution) and makes an example out of them, scaring other members of society so they will not want to end up in the same boat (utilitarianism).   The second, Maintain and Teach, maintains the safety of our citizens.   It teaches society the boundaries of right and wrong and is supposed to teach criminals how to live productively having a crime free life (rehabilitation).   This is sometimes questioned because our jails and prisons are so overcrowded there is not enough time to spend on “rehabilitation”.

      There are four different written sources of law.   First is the U.S. Constitution.   The laws are as written in the Constitution.   Second is Statutory Laws.   These laws are the laws made at the federal, state, and local legislature.   These laws must not interfere with the U.S. Constitution.   Third is Administrative Law.   These are the laws made by the federal or state government and are the laws that protect us from unsafe food and consumer products.   Regulatory groups are in place to be sure these laws are followed.   An example of these would be OSHA, FDA, and EPA.   The fourth is Case Law.   These are laws made by a judge that govern all areas not covered by...