While violation of  traffic laws may only result in fines or other relatively minor punishments, violation of criminal laws can have a profound impact on your life.  Penalties may involve fines, incarceration, or even the death penalty.

The purpose of criminal law is essentially to maintain an orderly and peaceful society governed by rules which set out the standard of behavior expected of its citizens.

There are five recognized purposes:

“Retribution”
Society’s punishment for anti-societal acts.

“Specific Deterrence”
To discourage  the criminal from committing the crime again.

“General Deterrence”
To discourage other members of society from committing that same crime.

“Incapacitation”
To keep criminals out of society for a period of time.

“Rehabilitation”
To treat, educate or train the convicted person to avoid committing any further crimes.

Contact Houlon Berman

At Houlon, Berman, Finci & Levenstein we utilize our over 40 years of experience to defend our clients in criminal law cases and help you win.

If you’re facing criminal law cases, or have any questions about the purpose of MD criminal law, then contact Houlon Berman today at (301) 459-8200 and schedule a free consultation. If you prefer, you can click here to complete an online consultation request.

The law firm of Houlon, Berman, Finci & Levenstein is the proud recipient of a Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings ^™ certification of AV®. We defend criminal law cases in Maryland, including Greenbelt, Rockville, Upper Marlboro and Washington, DC.