Political Economy of Criminal Procedure

Abstract:     
This chapter presents a public choice theory of criminal procedure. The core idea is that criminal procedure is best understood as a set of rules designed to thwart attempts to use the state's law enforcement power in a predatory fashion or in order to transfer wealth generally. For the most part we focus on a set of core procedural protections that can be considered long-established norms.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 36

Keywords: public choice, rent seeking, criminal procedure theory, reasonable doubt standard, double jeopardy, ex post facto clause, due process, error costs, selective enforcement, cruel and unusual punishment

JEL Classification: K00, K14, K19, K39, K49

working papers series