What is the Purpose of Criminal Law

Criminal law, sometimes referred to as penal law, is based on of several areas of written law including constitutional, administrative, statutory and case law. Constitutional law deals with the interpretation and implementation of the U.S. Constitution, administrative law is designed to regulate government agencies, statutory law is determined by national, state or local legislatures, and case law pertains to precedents set by previous court cases and their outcomes. Common law may also be utilized in establishing criminal law. Common law is based on the universal consent and practices of society. The terms common law and case law are sometimes used synonymously as their implications are almost identical.

Since there are various written sources of criminal law, what is the purpose of criminal law? The purpose of criminal law is twofold: 1. to express public morality and 2. to set or teach boundaries in society. When individuals violate commonly accepted public morals or rules established by society, the individual must be punished for their intentional violation of the law. Criminal law seeks to hold individuals accountable for their criminal actions by taking some type of legal action against the individual, such as imprisonment or fines. Both statutory law and common law provide guidance for the legal punishment of individuals guilty of committing criminal offenses.

People in society either legislate laws (statutory law) or pass down laws through many generations (common law or case law), and these laws set the boundaries for what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. When individuals choose to participate in behaviors that are against the rules of society and cause harm to themselves or others, an example must be made of the individual through various types of punishments. By punishing those responsible for violating societal laws, order is maintained and others are deterred from committing the same offense. Overall, what is the purpose of criminal law? To maintain order in society by deterring, incapacitating, punishing, or rehabilitating those that violate the laws of society.