CRIMINAL LAW

the body of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging, and trial of suspected persons, and fixes punishment for convicted offenders. The offenses that involve criminal law, a part of public law, are those construed as being against the state. It contrasts with tort law, a part of private (or civil) law that deals with offenses regarded as between private persons. (The term civil law is also used to describe the legal systems of many continental European countries, as opposed to common law, the Anglo-American legal system. However, the civil law mentioned below means only the law governing civil offenses.) Criminal law presupposes a rule of law in defining acts as criminal. In other words, however immoral or unjust an act may be thought to be, it is not a crime unless the law says it is one. Under the common law, custom and precedent define criminal action; in countries or states where a legal code exists, statute defines it. The principle of legalitythat is, the presupposition of a rule of lawalso prescribes that the application of the law be narrowly construed, that such application may not be retroactive, and that the wording of statutes be free of ambiguity. Criminal law usually precludes the trial of a person a second time for the same offense (double jeopardy) and contains statutes of limitationsthat is, limits for the period during which charges may be made. A crime is usually defined as a voluntary act or omission, in conjunction with a given state of mind. Acts committed during fits of epilepsy or while sleepwalking are involuntary and thus do not qualify as crimes. The state of mind (mens rea) is a factor that statutes have not always defined precisely, but basically it involves purpose, awareness, recklessness, or negligence. Mental disorders are also widely recognized as limiting or absolving responsibility for acts otherwise regarded as criminal. Other factors entering into the determination of criminal intent are self-defense, defense of other persons, protection of property, and enforcement of the law. The law of most countries recognizes that the use of force, while not justifiable, may be excused if the defendant believed that the use of force was necessitated by special circumstances. Criminal acts include arson, rape, treason, aggravated assault, theft, burglary, robbery, and murder. These offenses are further broken down according to the mens rea of the actor into first, second, third, and fourth degrees. Other concerns of criminal law are conspiracy, a rather broad term that denotes agreement between two or more individuals to commit a crime, and preliminary, or inchoate, crimes, which are actions aimed at achieving a criminal result even if they do not succeed. The chief inchoate crime is called attempt. The definition of attempt varies from one legal system to another, but essentially it is preparation for criminal action that has gone beyond a legally defined point. Criminal law also relates to the investigatory procedures employed for apprehending suspects and for charging and trying them. In this respect, it covers investigation, the assemblage of the material elements (corpus delicti) of a crime, the function of the police and of the prosecutor, the issuing of warrants, the role of the judge, and the role of the defense counsel. The law also deals with the preparation of charges and with trial procedures. The latter involves the formation of juries, the guarantee of a public trial, the right to counsel, the presentation of evidence, the establishment of guilt, and sentencing, if guilt has been established. Criminal law is also concerned with postconviction procedures, such as calling for a new trial or challenging a conviction, either in the court where the conviction was declared or in appeal to a higher court. Modern criminal law has been affected considerably by the social sciences, especially with respect to sentencing, legal research, legislation, and rehabilitation. the body of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging, and trial of suspected persons, and fixes penalties and modes of treatment applicable to convicted offenders. Criminal law is only one of the devices by which organized societies protect the security of individual interests and assure the survival of the group. There are, in addition, the standards of conduct instilled by family, school, and religion; the rules of the office and factory; the regulations of civil life enforced by ordinary police powers; and the sanctions available through tort actions. The distinction between criminal law and tort law is difficult to draw with real precision, but in general one may say that a tort is a private injury while a crime is conceived as an offense against the public, although the actual victim may be an individual. This article treats the principles of criminal law and the influence of the social sciences on criminal legislation and law enforcement. For treatment of the law of criminal procedure, see procedural law: Criminal procedure. Additional reading General and comparative works Classics in the field include James Fitzjames Stephen, A History of the Criminal Law of England, 3 vol. (1883, reissued 1964); Leon Radzinowicz, A History of English Criminal Law and Its Administration from 1750 (1948 ); Jerome Hall, General Principles of Criminal Law, 2nd ed. (1960); George P. Fletcher, Rethinking Criminal Law (1978); and Glanville Williams, Textbook of Criminal Law, 2nd ed. (1983).General and introductory texts include Wayne R. LaFave and Austin W. Scott, Jr., Substantive Criminal Law, 2 vol. (1986), a discussion of topics such as responsibility, justification, and crimes against person and property; Rupert Cross, Philip Asterley Jones, and Richard Card, Introduction to Criminal Law, 11th ed. (1988), a standard British introductory text; Marise Cremona, Criminal Law (1989); Peter W. Low, Criminal Law, rev. ed. (1990), covering the basic principles and issues of criminal law; J.C. Smith and Brian Hogan, Criminal Law, 7th ed. (1992), an outstanding text on British law, and Criminal Law: Cases and Materials, 5th ed. (1993), containing extracts from books and articles; Thomas J. Gardner and Terry M. Anderson, Criminal Law: Principles and Cases, 6th ed. (1996); John N. Ferdico, Ferdico's Criminal Law and Justice Dictionary (1992), a comprehensive and concise resource; John M. Scheb and John M. Scheb II, Criminal Law and Procedure, 2nd ed. (1994), discussing such issues as law and punishment and the organization of the criminal justice system; L.B. Curzon, Criminal Law, 7th ed. (1994); Andrew Ashworth, Principles of Criminal Law, 2nd ed. (1995), a work that focuses on English law, raising questions about doctrines and rules and examining some of the principles and policies at work in the shaping of law; Joshua Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law, 2nd ed. (1995), a comprehensive text covering such topics as burden of proof and principles of criminal punishment; Michael Jefferson, Criminal Law, 2nd ed. (1995); and Paul H. Robinson, Fundamentals of Criminal Law, 2nd ed. (1995). Treatises on selected nations Criminal law of various countries is discussed in Jonathan Burchell and John Milton, Principles of Criminal Law (1991), an introductory text covering the general principles of criminal liability, common-law crimes, and certain statutory crimes in South Africa; J.M. Herlihy and R.G. Kenny, An Introduction to Criminal Law in Queensland and Western Australia, 3rd ed. (1990), a discussion of the fundamentals and the changes that have occurred; Timothy H. Jones and Michael G.A. Christie, Criminal Law (1992), a basic outline of criminal law in Scotland; several works on Canadian law, including Graham Parker, An Introduction to Criminal Law, 3rd ed. (1987), with chapters on criminal-law history and the relationship between law and morals; Eric Colvin, Principles of Criminal Law, 2nd ed. (1991), an introductory text; Alan W. Mewett and Morris Manning, Mewett & Manning on Criminal Law, 3rd ed. (1994), a document on the significant changes that have taken place in many areas; and Don Stuart, Canadian Criminal Law: A Treatise, 3rd ed. (1995), an edition that includes recent decisions made by the Supreme Court of Canada; and, for Germany, Johannes Wessels, Strafrecht Allgemeiner Teil: die Straftat und ihr Aufbau, 23rd rev. ed. (1993), an introductory text; and Reinhart Maurach and Heinz Zipf, Strafrecht: Allgemeiner Teil, 7th ed., 2 vol. (198789). Works on substantive criminal law Imre A. Wiener (A. Imre Wiener), Economic Criminal Offences: A Theory of Economic Criminal Law (1990; originally published in Hungarian, 1986), examines policies of state in both capitalist and socialist countries. K.J.M. Smith, A Modern Treatise on the Law of Criminal Complicity (1991), focuses on English law but contains references to American and Commonwealth jurisdictions. Celia Wells, Corporations and Criminal Responsibility (1993), questions the application of general or criminal-law doctrines to corporations. Raimo Lahti and Kimmo Nuotio (eds.), Criminal Law Theory in Transition: Finnish and Comparative Perspectives (1992), contains essays covering various aspects of criminal-law theory. David L. Bazelon, Questioning Authority: Justice and Criminal Law (1987), is a collection of essays by a U.S. Court of Appeals judge. Thomas Morawetz (ed.), Criminal Law (1991), discusses such topics as liberalism, economics, reason, and emotions in criminal law. M. Cherif Bassiouni (ed.), International Criminal Law, 3 vol. (198687), deals with the crimes, procedures, and enforcement of international criminal law. R.A. Duff, Intention, Agency, and Criminal Liability: Philosophy of Action and the Criminal Law (1990), is an introduction to some central legal and philosophical issues concerning criminal liability. Douglas N. Husak, Philosophy of Criminal Law (1987), attempts to expose the inadequacies of criminal law and outlines the direction that revisions should take. Sanford H. Kadish, Blame and Punishment: Essays in the Criminal Law (1987), contains contributions made by one of the leading American legal scholars. Michael S. Moore, Act and Crime: The Philosophy of Action and Its Implications for Criminal Law (1993), discusses the act requirement of criminal law, the morality that justifies such a requirement, and the metaphysical nature of the acts. Stephen Shute, John Gardner, and Jeremy Horder (eds.), Action and Value in Criminal Law (1993), is a collection of essays that discuss the philosophical foundations of criminal law and legal doctrine. Michael J. Gorr and Sterling Harwood (eds.), Controversies in Criminal Law: Philosophical Essays on Responsibility and Procedure (1992), deals with liability and procedure. Nicola Lacey, Celia Wells, and Dick Meure, Reconstructing Criminal Law: Critical Perspectives on Crime and the Criminal Process (1990), examines criminal law in its social, historical, and procedural context by analyzing the processes that surround its creation, development, and application. Alan Norrie, Crime, Reason, and History: A Critical Introduction to Criminal Law (1993), is an introduction to North American law. Alan R. White, Misleading Cases (1991), argues that several criminal-law concepts have been misinterpreted and have led to mistaken decisions and bad judgments. Jeremy Horder, Provocation and Responsibility (1992), focuses on the historical and philosophical underpinnings of the legal doctrine of provocation. Patrick J. Knoll, Criminal Law Defences, 3rd ed. (1994), covers issues such as exemptions, justifications, excuses, and procedural defenses; J.C. Smith, Justification and Excuse in the Criminal Law (1989), also provides a useful discussion of these issues. Lawrence P. Tiffany and Mary Tiffany, The Legal Defense of Pathological Intoxication: With Related Issues of Temporary and Self-Inflicted Insanity (1990), offers a literature review and analysis of the topic. Works in criminology and sociology Norval Morris, Madness and the Criminal Law (1982), focuses on criminal responsibility and sentencing of the mentally ill. Paul H. Robinson and John M. Darley, Justice, Liability, and Blame: Community Views and the Criminal Law (1995), includes a general discussion of the proper role of community views in formulating legal doctrines, as well as original studies on a wide range of disputed legal issues. Robert F. Schopp, Automatism, Insanity, and the Psychology of Criminal Responsibility: A Philosophical Inquiry (1991), examines the psychological components of criminal responsibility and the role that psychological impairment should play in a theory of criminal liability. John F. Galliher, Criminology: Human Rights, Criminal Law, and Crime (1989), contains chapters on the origins of the law and the administration of the criminal law in the United States. Charles W. Thomas and Donna M. Bishop, Criminal Law: Understanding Basic Principles (1987), reviews fundamental legal theories, terms, and concepts. Toni Pickard and Phil Goldman, Dimensions of Criminal Law (1992), discusses the politics of criminal law. Hans-Heinrich Jescheck The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica