Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-01-18
EDWIN r. kEEDY
On Administration Of Criminal Law


THE enforcement of criminal law in this
L country depends entirely upon public
opinion. according I" Prof. Edwin Il. kc"dy'
of the law school of the University Of Penn
sylvania.
The administration OF criminal law.
said Prof. Keedy, "s an interesting subject
| have devoted some attention TO 1t, the
results Of which / embodied in II paper read
AT recent meeting of the Pennsylvania
Bar Association. In view of the present
apparent prevalence of crime, the matter
seems to deserve some consideration from
the public
I'm Philadelphia and the other 'lRrgr
cities murders seem to occur almost daily,
while burgaries and robbories are so fire.
quent that they are sometimes tabuluted In
the newspapers under one heading.
The Prohibition Problem
The NOsIend act prohibits III" manu-
tactur", sal" and transportation Of any
beverage containing more than one half of
l per cent alcohol. In many communities,
especially the large Eastern cities. this law
il being violated freely.
prohibition officials have been crying GU,
at the wholesale violations "f the law and
at the refusal Of juries to convict the viola
tors. There is an element Of irony In an
act passed at the last session of the Penn
sylvania Legislature providing for Ihc sale,
under license, of liquors fit. for beverage
purposes, other than such ms are, from time
to time, determined and found To be- in
toxicating by act "f Congress- This means
that whisky, Tor instance, containing less
than one-half Of l per cent Of alcohol. may
be legally sold,
How Criminal Laws Are Made
AT the common law IA crime was con-
"eived OF as wrong committed against the
public. The act might affect the public di-.
rectly. aS III IN" cas-" of nuisance. or in
fly in, hn 1
cases, however. there was general test for
determining whether an arT was II crime.
As crimes at common law We're determined
from the viewpoint of the public, there was
IL certain natural coincidence between the
criminal law and the moral code
But whll" the courts were compelled to
follow II general principle, the Legislatures
have never been SO rcstrctcd Apart from
constitutional restrictions. they were bound
by no pTccedCnts and governed by no pru-
"iples They may prohibit, under penalty,
acts which possess none Of the qualities Of u
common law crime and which never have
been regarded us criminal on wrong.
In theory, the actions Of legislators re-
suit from and are in accordance with the
general sentiment of the people, who are
| supposed to hay" definite views as To what
| their laws should be, In practice, these Nv o
| conditions seldom exist. While in TN un.
! usual situation, such rs war, thc demand for
! legislation may be met BY tho lcpiSmtor.
!
| s"ntiment on the part of the people, nor does
| legislative action bear close resemblance" to-
! the opinions of the mass of the people,
Sentiment Plays a Part
Even where there is IL demand for II ,.rv
! law or Il change in an old one. this ouiniun
! Is usually an emotional reaction. II is not
public opinion, but the opinion Of small
! groups that usually determines legislation in
| this country These groups may be roughly
| divided into three classes those seeking law,
for their own benefit; those who nrc oisin-
! tcrestpdly concerned in improving conditions.
and those who desire that 'thr conduct Of
! other persons should conform t. certain
standards upheld in theory. at lcaSt by the
members Of the groups.
! Associations of business 81 professional
men and large corporations are Examples Of
the first class patriotic societies Of tho sec
nnd. and some OF tho Blue Law group Of
Inc third In the case Of the Federal bro
| hIbition laws all three Of the groups we're
concerned, each carrying out IT'S own pur-
''The matter Of enforcement has two as
nects First, whether those committing
crimes are punished for It, and second, the
fleet thai laws providing punishment for
certain acts have upon the conduct of the
! persons 10 whom they apply. Whatever may
7. he rio view as ~ the theory pr punishment