Discuss the historical development of criminal law. What elements of criminal law from history can be directly applied to the way our justice system works today?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Early formal legal codes were lost during the Dark Ages and in their place, a legal system featuring monetary compensation called wergild was put into place. Guilt was determined by either "compurgation" or "ordeal." After William the Conqueror established himself in England, he sent royal administrators throughout the country to hear about crimes and serious breaches. The judge would then decide what to do in each case using local customs and rules of conduct in a system called stare decisis. The present English system of law came into existence during the reign of Henry II. Judges began to publish their decisions in local cases, which allowed judicial precedents and national law to accumulate. Other judges started using these written decisions as a basis for decision making and eventually produced a fixed body of legal rules and principles that could be commonly applied in similar cases. Before the American Revolution, colonists were subject to common law. Certain principles of the US system were taken from these roots, like codifying laws and writing judicial decisions that set precedent for future cases in how the law should be applied. Current customs and conduct also influence the ways laws evolve and change.