Beginning with common law and concluding with contemporary law, explain how criminal law has evolved as society has evolved

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Hammurabi created the most famous set of written laws in the ancient world, known as the Code of Hammurabi. The code established a system of crime and punishment based on physical retaliation. The severity of punishment depended on social standing. The formal legal codes were lost during the Dark Ages; however, early German and Anglo-Saxon societies developed legal systems featuring monetary compensation for criminal violations. Under normal law, royal judges began to travel throughout the land holding court. The royal judge would decide what to do in each case. Precedent was used in later cases to make decisions. This practice is stilled used today by the courts. Contemporary law is divided into four categories. The first is substantive criminal law and involves such issues as the mental and physical elements of crime. The second is procedural criminal law and is concerned with the basic rules of practice in the criminal justice system. Civil law is the third and concerns the rules governing relations between private parties. The last is public or administrative law and involves the government and its relationships with individuals or other governments.