The primary function is to protect citizens from harm to their safety and property. Some examples of this would be murder, theft, or arson. The second function is to maintain and teach social values as well as social boundaries. Some examples of this would be drinking and driving, speed limits, or bigamy.

The written sources of American criminal law are Constitutional Law, Statutory Law, Administrative Law, and Case Law. The purpose of Constitutional law covers areas of law like relationships between states and the federal governments, the rights of individuals and citizens of the United States and all other areas concerned with constitutional law. The purposes of statutory law are defined as laws which are passed by the federal Congress and the various state legislatures. These statutes are the basis for statutory law. The legislature passes statutes which are later put into the federal code of laws or pertinent state code of laws. Statutory law also includes local......

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Title: Inside Criminal Law
Approximate Word Count: 1332
Approximate Pages: 6 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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