LAW 201 Lecture 5: 201 Week 5
15 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
Criminal law functions around the ideas of prohibition and punishment: Prohibition: prohibits certain acts in the name of public interest . Punishment: imposes punishment when the state proves prohibited acts are committed . Stealing is a crime against society but the person stolen from does not necessarily get anything. Crime as a breach of social contract and seek societal remedies . The topic of harm: the prevention and punishment of harm should be what criminal law is. The topic of wrongful conduct: scope of the harm principle is too narrow, criminal law can be about expression and protection of moral norms. Criminal cases are state vs. individual so eg. regina v duffy. State has all the resources in these cases, creating an imbalance of power . Most people accused of crimes don"t have these resources . Therefore individuals are entitled to protections that address power imbalances in the face of the state .
