Understanding the Objectives of Criminal Law

Los Angeles is governed by different laws that guide its residents on what they should and shouldn’t do. Any violation of the law is punishable and the degree of punishment depends on the extent of the offense. Severe violations of the law that causes serious damages are categorized under criminal offenses. These are weighed by the jury using the guidelines of criminal laws.

Offenses that fall under criminal law are murder, theft, battery, and sexual abuse. Even aiding and abetting, burglary, and assault are considered criminal offenses in Los Angeles and in most part of United States. Criminal offenses are enforced with corporal punishments in different forms and levels.

Criminal law enforcement is commonly done by -balancing the scales-. This is due to the thinking that criminals have to suffer the same way that their victims did. For example, a murderer deserves to undergo death penalty to balance the scales. This enforcement objective is called retribution.

Another enforcement objective is called deterrence, whether individual or general. Individual deterrence aims to punish the sole offender, while general deterrence aims to punish a greater group of society to discourage others from violating the law. A criminal attorney in los angeles may also be handling a case in which the law enforcers aim to incapacitate the client. Incapacitation is the act of extracting the offender from the society through death penalties or life imprisonment.

A criminal attorney in los angeles may also encounter law enforcers who aim only to rehabilitate the offender. This applies to criminal cases brought about by a certain form of addiction of the offender. There is also another form of enforcement objective called restitution where the only aim is to repair the damage done. These may seem like subtle consequences, yet these cases still need the assistance of criminal lawyers.

A criminal attorney in los angeles handles these cases because of his or her expertise in criminal law. Criminal charges are filed in courts and undergo a long process of stressful court proceedings. Once an accused person is proven guilty, enforcement of criminal law is done for different objectives.