The emergence of English common law in the period of the reign of Henry II had the biggest impact on the development of the criminal justice system in the United States (Jones and Barett 31). It allowed the establishment of a centralized court system with the judges appointed directly by the king. They determined the severity of punishment for the behavior that was deemed illegal thereby creating a body of common law (Jones and Barett 31). Later it began to rely on the doctrine of precedent or stare decisis. This doctrine allowed judges to interpret new cases and apply a law according to previous legal decisions (Jones and Barett 31). The first settlers brought over the English common law to American shores during the colonial period (University of Cincinnati par. 2). However, it was mainly based on religious principles and was highly informal in its practice, often relying chiefly on oral testimony (Chamelion and Thomas 6). A common law became a part of the American legal code. Gradually, numerous modifications were introduced to it to make it more uniform and standardized so that even average citizens would be cognizant of their duties and responsibilities. Nonetheless, many settlers distrusted the common law system, because they saw in it an oppressive influence of the Catholic Church (IIP Digital par. 7). Consequently, both the states and the federal government developed statutes—written codes defining crimes and penalties for them—thus standardizing and formalizing the law (Jones and Barett 31). In the words of Professor Bibas, “criminal justice moved from a common-sense, public moral judgment to a technical, hidden, opaque process. It was no longer about communal expressions of justice and deserved punishment, but about speedy professional triage of threats” (Bibas 28). Moreover, criminals no longer were seen as those who had committed a sin against God, but rather they were treated as those who preyed on communal and societal cohesion (Bibas 15). In the wake of the American Revolution (1775-1783), government size and its powers were substantially diminished. The state legislatures had a close control of courts, preventing the development of independent judiciary and sometimes even abolished some of them over unpopular decisions (IIP Digital par. 8). According to Neubauer, with courts declaring some of the legislative actions unconstitutional and thereby contributing to the “conflict between legislative and judicial power… the courts gradually emerged as an independent political institution” (Neubauer 93). After Civil War (1861-1865), numerous courts were created to respond to the increasing needs of rapidly growing industrialized areas for resolving complex legal disputes. As a result, new courts such as small claim, juvenile and domestic relations courts emerged (IIP Digital par. 8). Numerous riots between ethnic, racial, and religious groups led to the creation of a professional police force. Initially, it was not sufficiently disciplined, and officers lacked proper training for the job (Bibas 15). However, at the end of the nineteenth century, police transformed into a highly standardized and professional force (Bibas 15). With the rise of public offenses without a distinct victim, such as violations of alcohol law, there was an increased need