Class 6(A) – What to Punish

Read Dressler pages1-3, 27-31, M.P.C. § 1.02(1)

Think about the following questions:

1. How much criminalization is appropriate?
2. What harms should the criminal law protect against? What risks?
3. Are there some types of conduct that we want to discourage, but that should be beyond the reach of the criminal law? Why? What are the concerns?
4. Should all conduct that is immoral be criminal? Should conduct that is not immoral ever be criminal? Should morality matter at all? Who determines what is and is not "moral"?
5. Are there costs to criminalization that outweigh the benefits of treating undesirable behavior as a crime? What are they?
6. What should legislators consider when they are asked to create new crimes?

Do: Whatever you need to do to be prepared to actively discuss these issues in class.

Do: Make sure you have also prepared the material that was previously Class 5.

In Class:  Legislative Problem