There is no more vivid example of a state's power over its citizens than the criminal law. By criminalizing various behaviours, the state sets boundaries on what we can and cannot do. And the criminal law is in many ways unique in the harshness of its sanctions. But traditional criminal law theory has for too long focussed on the questions, "what is a crime?" and "what is the justification of punishment?" The significance of the criminal law extends beyond these questions; indeed, critical philosophical questions underlie all aspects of the criminal justice system. The criminal law engages us not just as offenders or potential offenders, but also as victims, suspects, judges and jurors, prosecutors and defenders-and as citizens. The authors in this volume go beyond traditional questions to challenge our conventional understandings of the criminal law. In doing so, they draw from a number of disciplines including philosophy, history, and social science.

Introduction, Chad Flanders and Zach Hoskins

Part I: Crime and the Function of Criminal Law

1. Two Conceptions of the Criminal Law, Vincent Chiao

2. Embodied Ethical Life and the Criminal Law, Joshua Kleinfeld

3. What are the Sexual Offenses?, Stuart P. Green

Part II: Authority and Legitimacy

4. Conditions of Legitimate Punishment, Alice Ristroph

5. Does the State Have a Monopoly to Punish Crime?, Douglas Husak

6. Universal Jurisdiction and International Criminal Law, Jovana Davidovic

Part III: Offenders and Victims

7. Historicizing Criminal Responsibility, Arlie Loughnan

8. Victims of Crime: Their Rights and Duties, Sandra Marshall

Part IV: Criminal Procedure

9. Reforming Plea Bargaining, Richard L. Lippke

10. Presumptions of Innocence, R. A. Duff


Part V: Sanctions

11. Punishment as an Apology Ritual, Christopher Bennett

12. Equity, not Mercy, Mary Sigler

13. Collateral Restrictions, Zachary Hoskins

List of Contributors

Selected Bibliography