NCJ Number
81824
Date Published
1982
Length
342 pages
Annotation
This book reviews current criminal laws in U.S. jurisdictions, explores the social functions of major rules of criminal law and the rationales for their continuation, and aids consideration of whether particular criminal laws are just.
Abstract
The primary theme is that criminal law is a cultural creation to regulate and control human bahavior, mirror social values, and occasionally precipitate social change. The first major part of the presentation uses argumentative essays, a dialog, and a poem to raise fundamental questions about the nature of law and its relationship to power and morality. The polemics of this section provide a gradual immersion into the system of reasoning that underlies legal method. The second major section, which constitutes half the book, presents the substantive body of the criminal law. It includes discussions of many major and minor offenses, including homicide, rape, assault, abortion, prostitution, drug use, and theft. Also included are discussions of the major defenses, including insanity, duress, intoxication, self-defense, and necessity. Each of the four parts of the section focuses on a philosophical principle that may be useful in distinguishing good laws from bad. The third section provides a perspective on the historical development of modern conceptions of fair and effective punishments and describes contemporary sentencing practice so as to help persons think for themselves about how offenders ought to be punished. The concluding section provides a preliminary overview of criminal procedure. The book relies heavily on cases as a method of instruction. A subject index is included. (Author summary modified)