In Simester and Andrea von Hirsch’s essay, “Harms, Wrongs, and Crimes,” they address the idea of wrongful constraint. A wrongful constraint is identified as only permissible to criminalize if it is morally wrongful conduct. The authors describe how a criminal law must be a justified one before it is appropriate to punish or else it violates the theory of wrongful constraint. In this essay, they lay down the definition and rights of the state when it comes to criminal law. Criminal law is defined as a coercive system to control the wrongful behavior of citizens; if the law does not…

In James Edwards essay, “Laws that are Made to be Broken,” he describes how the Identification Principle is the rule of law and binds state officials and institutions subject to the law (p. 588). Edwards also explains how LMBs, laws made to be broken, violate the Identification Principle as well. In this essay, Edwards compares LMBs to LMFs; LMBs are laws meant to be broken to achieve means of conviction. LMFs are laws meant to be followed, which are achieved by means of compliance (p. 593). Edwards argues that LMBs lead to more punishment and violate the Identification Principle because…

In Ripstein’s essay, “Beyond the Harm Principle,” he argues that the sovereignty principle is a better alternative than Mill’s harm principle because not every violation of freedom causes harm. Ripstein goes on to describe the harm principle, the definition of equal freedom, independence, and sovereignty. Ripstein explains that someone is considered free or independent if they get to decide how to use their own powers for their own purposes/values (p. 216); Criminalization is acceptable when there are legitimate violations of equal freedom even if they do not cause harm.

Ripstein uses the example of harmless trespassing to argue that the…

In Fienberg’s essay, “Offense to Others,” he defends the idea of the offense principle. In chapter 7, Fienberg argues the offense principle could be used to justify a state’s interference on an individual’s liberty. Fienberg describes how the offense principle is parallel to the harm principle, but causing offense isn’t as severe as causing harm. Fienberg says extreme offense can cause harm to a person who becomes emotionally upset because it causes mental dislike. Fienberg describes how in order for someone to be offended or take offense to something, they must suffer a disliked state, regard the disliked state, and…

In this novel, John Stuart Mill talks about the idea of liberty. Mill describes liberty as an individual’s protection against the tyranny of political leaders. Mill discusses how everyone starts out as an individual and then makes their way up in society. In chapter 1, Mill describes how liberty should limit the power of the ruler and give individuals more political rights and freedoms; if the tyranny would not accept these political rights, then the people have the right to rebel against the ruler. Mill says the second part of obtaining liberty is to create constitutional checks, where an elected…

Hey guys! My name is Daylee Abrams, and I’m a freshman this year. I’m from Irmo, South Carolina, and I’ve lived here my whole life, so I’m really familiar with USC. My major is international business, and I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do, but I really want to travel the world. Part of me wants to go into political science, so I’m taking this class to see if I like it more than business.

I love meeting new people and cracking jokes. I’m a huge cat person, and I have three cuddly cats back at home. I literally love every food besides sweet potato because I hate the texture and color of it. #C&JF20