Chapter 5: Criminal Law

Law can be divided into two basic categories which is civil law that formal rules that regulate disputes between private parties and Criminal law which formal rules designed to maintain social control. Criminal laws can also be divided into two types which is substantive criminal law which Law are defining the specific behaviors prohibited under the criminal law and procedural law which rules are for adjudication of individuals suspected of violating the law. For example, Rape, robbery, burglary, or assault behaviors. That's why in criminal law has four main sources which the first source is the constitution which is the fundamental principles of a society that guide the enactment of specific laws and the application of those laws by courts. Another source of criminal law is Statutes which are laws that are passed by legislatures that prohibit or mandate certain acts. Which then the third source is the case law which judicial application and interpretation of law as it applies in a given case. Finally, the fourth source is the administrative regulations which rules applied to organizations that are designed to protect public health, safety, and welfare in the marketplace. The way American System of law and Justice was developed was that American criminal law was derived from the British common law which common laws are the body of unrecorded decisions made by English judges in the Middle Ages, reflecting the values, customs, and beliefs of the period. Which then the criminal justice system was comprised of more than 55,000 government agencies in the United States that dealt with aspects of law enforcements, the courts, and the corrections. Accuracy and Fairness have been added by legal steps which are essential elements of due process which is a legal protection included in the U.S. Constitution that guarantees all citizens the right to be adjudicated under established law and legal procedures. Which I believe applies to both the Fifth and the fourteenth Amendments prohibit all jurisdictions from depriving any person "of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. Elements of crime are "mens rea," which is the "guilty mind" or conscious decision to commit a criminal act and "actus reus," which the behavior that must be committed to meet the definition of a crime.