What is Criminal Law?

 What is Criminal Law?
 
Criminal law involves federal, state, and county laws which are instituted to prevent individual harm.  But, more importantly, criminal laws are set into place to protect society in general, and the vulnerable state of civilization from forces that threaten the peace, security, harmony, integrity, and stability of individual citizens as well as society as a whole.  A form of social self-defense, criminal law and the demand by society to adhere to certain standards of behavior are essential for societies to flourish.
 
Pursuant to United States criminal law, acts that threaten or harm individuals or society require punishment.  More than just a physical or monetary punishment, criminal law in the United States metes out punishment to those who engage in criminal behaviors—punishment that encompasses a formal, moral condemnation by a community.  The objectives of punishment can usually be categorized as retribution, deterrence, or rehabilitation.
 
Retribution as Punishment for Criminal Offenses
 
Retribution is the punishment of just desserts.  If you commit the crime, you deserve the punishment.  While years ago, this worked by simply eliminating the offender from society, today, we see the value of expiation, or a cleansing of the community whereby we offer offenders a chance to rejoin society after paying their debt to society. Sometimes viewed as retaliation, retribution is a viable alternative in some court systems.  Unfortunately, a strict enforcement of retribution tends to ignore factors that may have influenced an offender’s criminal behavior, such as ignorance, desperation, fear, mental illness, emotional trauma and the like. 
 
If your state has retributive punishments and you have been charged with a serious crime, do not hesitate in your search for legal representation. A competent criminal defense attorney will thoroughly investigate your case to determine what factors can be used to get you the best outcome available for your punishment or your release.
 
Deterrence as Punishment for Criminal Offenses
 
Deterrence as a means of punishment for criminal offenses is a method used to dissuade criminals from committing crimes.  The reasoning behind deterrence is that if the punishment is severe, you will not consider the risk to be worth the commission of the crime.  Deterrence, the threat of punishment, has proven to be ineffective in preventing crimes as most people who commit crimes are convinced they will never be caught.  Some believe that if a criminal is punished severely enough once, he/she will not commit a crime again.  Deterrence seems doomed to failure as statistics show that repeat offenders abound. 
 
If you find yourself in trouble with the law over a criminal charge that you have committed for a second time, you definitely need representation by a qualified criminal defense lawyer.  Repeat offenses are difficult to defend, especially if you have no real defense in the first place. To assure you of the best defense possible do your homework before engaging your criminal defense attorney to assure he/she is someone you can work with.
 
 
 
 
Rehabilitation as a Means to Combat the Repetition of Criminal Offenses
 
Rehabilitation, or reformation, aims to treat criminal behavior as a disorder or disease and strives to replace bad behavior with good.  Some studies do show that prisoner work and training programs do encourage less repeat criminal offenders.  A cousin to rehabilitation is restorative justice. Restorative justice gives the perpetrator of a crime a way to repair the harm done to a victim or society.  We see this type of punishment handed out often to repeat drunk drivers in the form of rehabilitation in combination with community service.  Does it work?  Occasionally.
 
If you have been charged with a misdemeanor or violation, you may be a candidate for rehabilitative measures as opposed to prison time.  Discuss this option with your criminal defense lawyer.  If your desire to change your behavior is genuine, an experienced criminal defense lawyer may be able to barter a plea deal for you that could include rehabilitation and community service in addition to a fine, allowing you to avoid prison time for the offense.