The Punishment Jurist

DeGirolami, Marc O.

Abstract

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The Punishment Jurist

Marc O. DeGirolami

St. John's University School of Law

October 29, 2012

Foundational Texts in Modern Criminal Law, Markus Dubber, ed., Oxford University Press (Forthcoming)
St. John's Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-0023

Abstract:
This is an essay on the critical history of the thought of the Victorian-era judge, Sir James Fitzjames Stephen. It discusses some of the themes in his major work, "The History of the Criminal Law of England." And it reflects on a cluster of questions involving criminal punishment: whether Stephen had a "theory" of punishment; if not how best to characterize his thought; and whether his views and understanding of the aims and functions of punishment remain relevant. The essay explores Stephen's positive and critical contributions, and it concludes that Stephen's major insight was methodological. His view is that the reasons for punishment cannot be separated from the obligations and the nature of the judicial office. He was neither a punishment retributivist nor a punishment consequentialist, but a punishment jurist.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 23

Keywords: crime, punishment, history, theory, judiciary

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Date posted: October 30, 2012

Suggested Citation

DeGirolami, Marc O., The Punishment Jurist (October 29, 2012). Foundational Texts in Modern Criminal Law, Markus Dubber, ed., Oxford University Press (Forthcoming); St. John's Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-0023. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2168188

Contact Information

Marc O. DeGirolami (Contact Author)

St. John's University School of Law ( email )

8000 Utopia Parkway
Queens, NY 11439
United States