The Five Worst (and Five Best) American Criminal Codes

Robinson, Paul H.; Cahill, Michael T.; Mohammad, Usman

doi:10.2139/ssrn.183290

Cited by 4 publications

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“…The discussion focuses on the criminal codes of two states: New York and Texas. These two in particular were chosen for several reasons: they are two of the three largest states; both have codes that resemble the Model Penal Code and, at least according to one ranking, are relatively high-quality among American jurisdictions (Robinson et al 2000); both have reasonably but not unusually sophisticated schemes for grading offenses, with eight offense categories each (unlike, say, California, which is more idiosyncratic) 5 ; and both might be expected to make relatively sound judgments about arson in particular, as both were among the few states whose pre-Model Penal Code statutory schemes for arson already conceptualized the offense as having features of both an offense against property and an offense against the person (Poulos 1986, p. 336). …”

Section: Arson's Particular Shape: Two Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grading Arson

Cahill

2008

Criminal Law, Philosophy

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Criminalizing arson is both easy and hard. On the substantive merits, the conduct of damaging property by fire uncontroversially warrants criminal sanction. Indeed, punishment for such conduct is overdetermined, as the conduct threatens multiple harms of concern to the criminal law: both damage to property and injury to people. Yet the same multiplicity of harms or threats that makes it easy to criminalize ''arson'' (in the sense of deciding to proscribe the underlying behavior) also makes it hard to criminalize ''arson'' (in the sense of formulating the offense(s) that will address that behavior). This article asks whether adopting one or more arson offenses is the best way for criminal law to address the conduct in question, or whether that conduct is more properly conceptualized, criminalized, and punished as multiple distinct offenses.

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Section: Arson's Particular Shape: Two Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%