Sources and Purposes of Criminal Law

Identify the sources and purposes of criminal law.
Kristi Adams
April 9th, 2014

If you had to choose between
•

•

(1) killing one person to save the lives of five others and
(2) doing nothing, even though you knew that five people would die right before your eyes if you did nothing—what would you do?
What would be the right thing to do?

•

You are the driver of a light rail car when the brakes fail.

•

You can steer the rail car.

•

Ahead on the track are five workers.

•

To the right on a rail spur is one worker.

•

What do you do? Why?

•

You are now standing on a bridge overlooking the runaway rail car.

•

You notice five workers in the rail car’s path.

•

Next to you, close to the edge of the bridge is a big man.

•

If you push him, he will hit the tracks and stop the train.

•

What do you do? Why?

Many sources of law exist as guideposts.










Divine Law
Natural Law
Statutes
Constitutions
Administrative Law
Ordinances
Common law and case law

Divine law
•

Over the ages, beliefs as to the sources of law have changed. Early in human history, laws were thought to be sent from God and were usually announced by some religious official.
These were known as Divine Laws and were often asserted by kings, who said they had a
God-given right to make laws.

Natural Law
Developed later. These were rules considered so basic to human nature that no society could exist without them.
The murder of another person would be contrary to natural law. Many natural laws have been more formally expressed by written statutes. •

•

•

Man-made law
Statutes are laws passed by the legislative branches of government (Congress in the federal government or state legislatures in each state).
They may be added, repealed, or changed much more easily than constitutions, and therefore are more easily adjusted to changing circumstances.

•

•

•