S elect an attorney from the list provided in each county, or in Baltimore City. No act is a crime if it has not been previously established as such either by statute or common law prior to the act. Historically, most crimes have been established by state law, with that law varying significantly state to state. In recent years the list of Federal crimes has grown. All statutes describing criminal behavior can be broken down into its various elements.
Prosecutors have to prove each and every element of the crime to yield a conviction.