How Society Reflected In Criminal Law

The relationship between what society believes is important and worth protecting and how it is reflected in criminal law can be described in many ways. Society in general views actions such as murder, rape, robbery or even burglary as an act, evil in nature, public or of moral principles. These actions are considered to be Malum in se. Laws which are viewed as Malum prohibitum, consist of acts banned by laws such as speeding, drug use, or even prostitution. These acts are seen as regulatory infractions, more examples include, inside traders who illegally share information or avoiding tax payments. The only way for a person to be criminally prosecuted there must be proof that harm at any time was done to another.

The person who has committed the acts must show that they knew they were the one who caused the crime and that knowingly were aware that their actions would cause a negative outcome. In society, we as a people must determine what we consider to be illegal and what the severity of those actions are and should be. State and federal laws are put into place when criminal law is acknowledged as an unacceptable way of society.
What would have been illegal years ago may not necessarily still hold ground today. For example, a law in Michigan used to proclaim that anyone over the age of twelve years old, may own a gun if there record did not possess a felony. That of course, has changed because the law now clearly states that the legal age in Michigan to possess a weapon is 18 years old. It is seen, in many cases today that the laws from long ago, are being reexamined and used to make proper judgements. In the right circumstances, some have been changed completely to be more