Controversies in Criminal Law

When philosophers have turned their attention to criminal law, they have tended to emphasize problems about the criminalization of acts and the justification for the punishment of those who commit such acts. But there has been a recent wave of significant and exciting philosophical work on issues surrounding two other topics in criminal law: Given the performance of a criminal act, what establishes criminal? And what should the state be allowed to use in trying to establish liability? In this carefully edited volume, Michael J. Gorr and Sterling Harwood present a generous selection of papers representing the best of this new work. Avoiding overly abstract pieces in favor of essays that highlight both the philosophical questions and what actually happens on the street and in the courtroom, they have produced a book that is accessible and relevant to the concerns of students. Controversies in Criminal law is an innovative and useful contribution to the teaching of philosophy of law and the foundations of criminal justice. It will be widely used in philosophy departments, law schools, and schools of criminal justice.