"Introduction." Criminal law is a stabilization of social policy based on past experiences. Criminal law regulates individual conduct with other people for social control. The study of criminal law includes methods such as learning the law by memory or seeking out general principles to understand their use. Law schools use the casebook method, where a case is read and analyzed to learn legal principles. This method helps lawyers learn how to seek legal principles to persuade a court on either side of a legal dispute. Law is divided into substantive (rights and duties of people to each other and society) and adjective (legal machinery to enforce rights and duties) law.
"Sources of the Criminal Law." Criminal law in the United States basically comes from the early English common law, federal and state constitutions, laws passed by federal and state legislatures, and court decisions. The common law is applied if it is not a violation of the Constitution of the United States or state constitutions, or in conflict with state laws. The Constitution of the United States and state constitutions provide the fundamental written law in this country. State and federal statutes are passed by the U.S. Congress and state legislatures; these statutes are compiled into a code. The principle of stare decisis states that court decisions become a precedent for that and all subordinate courts; established precedents may also be challenged and reversed by court decisions.
"Crime, Criminal Law, and Punishment Defined." Crime is defined and punished by law; it is social harm and may be directed at one person or society in general. Most crime involves civil wrongs or torts (acts that threaten or offend); the offender may be liable for civil and criminal wrongs (dual responsibility). Laws may provide special protection to children. Experts state that crime should be explained as the consequences of a wrongful act.
Forensic people vi...