Should We Abolish the Criminal Law?

Modern Legal System is Redundant Criminal law and tort law do the same thing in different ways Do we need both?

Two Questions Do we need criminal law Are we better off without it? Are there problems which it solves And a pure tort system cannot? Are we better off without it?

Problems Fraudulent Prosecution Crime puts other people in fear Victim cannot afford a lawyer Offender is judgment proof So no penalty and no deterrence And no incentive to go after him Fraudulent Prosecution

Advantages to Replacing Crime with Tort Socialism works poorly Division of powers If the Crown controls prosecution The King’s friends can get away with murder

Other Legally Interesting Issues Does the current sorting of offenses into crime or tort make sense? Do the differences in the legal rules of the two systems make sense? See Law’s Order for a discussion of those questions Or take my law and econ course next semester

For more on all of this, see Law’s Order, webbed on my site: Chapter 18 Legal Systems Very Different From Ours: Draft webbed on my site Course next semester Articles on my site "Private Creation and Enforcement of Law -- A Historical Case.” JLS "Efficient Institutions for the Private Enforcement of Law." JLS "Making Sense of English Law Enforcement in the Eighteenth Century," "Why Not Hang Them All: The Virtues of Inefficient Punishment, JPE My Web Site: www.daviddfriedman.com