Criminal Law

Criminal Law is the study of the principles and concepts underlying the laws that prohibit and punish behavior that society has deemed dangerous or undesirable. It is also a study of the institutions that attempt to interpret, enforce, and implement these principles and concepts, inlcluding police, prosecutors and judges. Throughout this course, we will consider the differences between "crimes" and other violations of law, and the roots of these differences in the common law, religious traditions, and moral precepts, as modified by changing economic and social conditions. We will also identify the elements of criminal statutes; the rules, formal and informal, that courts consult in interpreting criminal laws; the varying approaches and interpretatons among the several states, and the impact of the Model Penal Code.