The Integration of Substantive Criminal Law in the United States

Abstract:     
The notion of national integration is foreign to U.S. substantive criminal law, which traditionally has been highly particularized and localized, with a clear emphasis on the states rather than the federal government. Even in the absence of an explicit integrative ambition, however, the expansion of federal criminal law has resulted in the creation of a uniform body of criminal law that covers the entire United States. The further development of federal constitutional criminal law also may advance the integration of substantive criminal law in the United States, through the establishment of a common denominator of individual rights.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 18

Keywords: criminal law, code reform

JEL Classification: K14

working papers series