NCJ Number
74284
Journal
Revue international de droit penal Volume: 46 Issue: 3 and 4 Dated: (1975) Pages: 301-372
Date Published
1975
Length
72 pages
Annotation
This article examines the primary sources of United States criminal law and the due-process restraints in its application.
Abstract
Addressed to an international audience of law scholars, this is a study in depth of the complexities of criminal law in the United States. The primary sources of U.S. criminal law are not examined in order of significance, but rather presented following a simple functional division. Emphasis is placed on the overall conceptual framework that the United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land and superior to all State constitutions, State laws, and Federal laws. The crimes specifically mentioned in the Constitution and discussed here include treason, impeachment, piracy, and other international crimes. Federal criminal law is examined by giving the full text of the relevant articles of the Constitution. Common law is treated within its historical context. The presentation of statutory law emphasizes penal statutes and the evolution of the penal philosophies behind criminal sanctions, always applied according to strict principles of legality: the special significance of the prohibition of Bills of Attainder in this context is noted. The study also examines other related matters, including freedom of speech; the right to bear arms; self-incrimination; double jeopardy; cruel and unusual punishment; slavery and involuntary servitude; due-process constraints; the role of judicial interpretations; and canons of statutory interpretation. Three hundred footnotes are given. An appendix lists United States criminal statutes by State.