Criminal Law

Catalog description

The substantive goal of this course is to cover the basic principles of criminal law, including the common law of crimes as well as the Maine Criminal Code and the Model Penal Code. The methodological role of the course is that of statutory construction - the techniques of applying legislative enactments to varying fact situations in light of text, history, purpose and structural context. All of this will proceed with the underlying assumption that it is always necessary to judge rules of law according to their effectiveness and desirability.