Instructor Manual: Gardner & Anderson, Criminal Law, 14e, 2026, 9780357935507; Chapter 1: Criminal Law: Purposes, Scope, and Sources
Instructor Manual
Gardner & Anderson, Criminal Law, 14e, 2026, 9780357935507;
Chapter 1: Criminal Law: Purposes, Scope, and Sources
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter......................................................................2
Chapter Objectives........................................................................................................2
What’s New in This Chapter........................................................................................3
Chapter Outline.............................................................................................................3
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 1
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Gardner & Anderson, Criminal Law, 14e, 2026, 9780357935507; Chapter 1: Criminal Law: Purposes, Scope, and Sources
PURPOSE AND PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHAPTER
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce students to the fundamentals of American Criminal using a
historical perspective for added context. Students learn that there are three branches of government; the
legislature makes the law, the executive branch enforces it, and the judicial branch determines if an
individual is responsible for violating criminal law. In Chapter 1, students are exposed to classifications
of criminal law and distinguish between public laws (criminal laws) and private laws (civil law and tort
law), as well as felonies and misdemeanors. This chapter includes a discussion of the goals of the criminal
justice system and how those goals intersect with, and are shaped by, the reasons that people commit
crimes. This chapter analyzes the constitutional limitations of police power as it is used to define criminal
conduct, including discussions of the principle of legality, the Ex Post Facto Clause, the bill of attainder
clause, the “void for vagueness” and “overbreadth” doctrines, and the Due Process and Equal Protection
Clauses. The concept of status offenses is also introduced, and discussion of these concepts is supported
through the presentation of case law. Finally, the chapter provides context for students by tracing the
origin of common law crimes, and its evolution of its role in criminal law today.
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
LO 1. Identify the branches of government and their relationship to the criminal law.
LO 2. Describe the difference between public law and private law, including the difference between
criminal law and tort law.
LO 3. List the reasons people commit crimes and the reasons they do not.
LO 4. Discuss the four generally recognized goals of the criminal justice system.
LO 5. Explain the meaning of police power.
LO 6. Identify the general limitations on the exercise of the police power of government.
LO 7. Describe the classification of crimes and the principle of legality.
LO 8. List and describe five specific constitutional limitations on the power to create a criminal law.
LO 9. Define circumstances that would make a criminal law a status crime.
LO 10. Trace the origin of the common law and its place in criminal law today.
[return to top]
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 2
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Gardner & Anderson, Criminal Law, 14e, 2026, 9780357935507; Chapter 1: Criminal Law: Purposes, Scope, and Sources
WHAT’S NEW IN THIS CHAPTER
The following elements are improvements in this chapter from the previous edition:
Classification of Crimes section moved to follow Goals and Purposes of Criminal Law.
New chapter opener vignette.
Statistics update on crimes in the U.S.
Update to police power content with new example.
New box on Substantive and Procedural Due Process.
New 2022 case on gun regulations, where the Court appears now to have a new approach to
determining when a state can regulate ownership or possession of guns.
Updates to the SORNA material.
New box, “You Be the Attorney General”.
New Supreme Court case on retroactive application of the Johnson decision.
2019 common law crime case from Massachusetts added.
Four new Case Analysis exercises.
[return to top]
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The following outline organizes activities (including any existing discussion questions in PowerPoints or other
supplements) and assessments by chapter (and therefore by topic), so that you can see how all the content
relates to the topics covered in the text.
I. Important Concepts in Criminal Law (01.O1, 01.02, 01.03, ppt. slides 4–9)
A. Democracies seek to achieve their goals through laws that balance the rights of individuals
with the needs of society. The goals of a legal system of laws are public order, domestic
tranquility, and protection of basic rights.
B. Laws are enforced in the United States by officials in each of the three branches of
government: legislative, executive, and judicial. Laws are enacted by a legislature and
signed or vetoed by the chief executive. The executive branch is responsible for enforcing
and administering the laws. The judicial branch administers trials in courts, and laws are
interpreted via a process called judicial review.
C. In the United States the state judicial system contains state trial courts where jury trials
occur and convictions are entered. Criminal cases are appealed through the state appellate
courts and possibly also to the “top tier,” usually referred to as the state supreme court.
D. A defendant convicted at the state level has the ability to appeal to the United States Supreme
Court using a writ of certiorari, or a request of the Court to hear a case. If the Court agrees, it
sends a written order to the lower court for its case materials. If a writ is denied, the
conviction is final, but other post-convictions means of relief may also exist. A confined
person may also file a writ of habeas corpus or a form of federal and state post-conviction that
asks an incarcerating authority to explain its confinement of a person.
E. Federal district courts typically serve as federal trial courts and are organized into eleven
circuits, plus the District of Columbia and Federal Circuits. Each circuit also has an
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 3
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Gardner & Anderson, Criminal Law, 14e, 2026, 9780357935507; Chapter 1: Criminal Law: Purposes, Scope, and Sources
appellate counterpart to address appeals from the district courts in the circuit.
F. Criminal law is part of public law, or laws that apply to everyone in a given jurisdiction.
Public law enforcement agencies (police, prosecutors, courts, corrections) make up the
criminal justice system in England and the United States. Criminal law is a form of public
law and civil law is a form of private law. A tort is a non-contractual civil wrong.
G. Laws that define and regulate criminal conduct are called substantive law. In addition,
criminal procedure regulates the steps of the process from arrest through punishment and
release of the offender.
H. Criminology and criminalistics are fields that are separate from but related to substantive
criminal law. Criminology is the study of the general causes of crime and creation of
criminal laws. Criminalistics is often called forensic science which is the science and
scientific testing of evidence with results used as evidence in criminal court.
I. Substantive criminal law defines the conduct that society requires to preserve public
order and protect property rights. In criminal statutes, the conduct is called actus reus.
Not all wrongs are criminal wrongs; a civil wrong is a private wrong such as a tort or a
contract violation.
J. Criminal laws are strongest when they reflect the moral and ethical beliefs of the society.
When many believe that something is morally wrong and criminal, the law is
strengthened. Society uses many sanctions besides criminal law to encourage people to
behave properly. Examples include regulations and peer pressure.
II. Goals and Purposes of Criminal Law (01.04, ppt slide 10–11)
A. From colonial times through WWI, criminal laws focused on the most serious crimes as
society was still agrarian. Most believed that crime was morally wrong and so many
informal institutions, such as church and family, held sway over many kinds of behavior.
B. As society became more industrialized, informal institutions lost their influence.
Deterioration of informal social control led to a rise in lawmaking, but criminal justice
still has many goals and purposes.
C. The criminal justice system has generally recognized goals and purposes: (a) Discourage and
deter people from committing crimes; (b) Protect society from dangerous and harmful people;
(c) Punish people who have committed crimes; (d) Rehabilitate and reform people who have
committed crime.
D. Deterrence is a major goal of the criminal justice system but crime rates have fallen in
recent years due to the aging population and falling unemployment rates.
III. Classification of Crimes (01.07, ppt slides 12–13)
A. Crimes in the United States may be classified according to source, as statutory, common
law, administrative, or constitutional crimes.
B. The most common classifications of laws are felonies or misdemeanors. A felony is the
most serious crime, generally punished by a year or more in prison. Many states and the
federal government provide for the death penalty for most serious of felonies. A
misdemeanor is considered less serious than a felony. A misdemeanor may be punished
by incarceration in a local jail for a period of time less than one year.
C. The felony/misdemeanor classification is important for many reasons. A felony impacts
employment, credit rating, adopting a child. Felony charges provide the right to a
preliminary hearing/grand jury. Laws governing arrest for a felony differ from a
misdemeanor.
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 4
accessible website, in whole or in part.
Instructor Manual
Gardner & Anderson, Criminal Law, 14e, 2026, 9780357935507;
Chapter 1: Criminal Law: Purposes, Scope, and Sources
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter......................................................................2
Chapter Objectives........................................................................................................2
What’s New in This Chapter........................................................................................3
Chapter Outline.............................................................................................................3
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 1
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Gardner & Anderson, Criminal Law, 14e, 2026, 9780357935507; Chapter 1: Criminal Law: Purposes, Scope, and Sources
PURPOSE AND PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHAPTER
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce students to the fundamentals of American Criminal using a
historical perspective for added context. Students learn that there are three branches of government; the
legislature makes the law, the executive branch enforces it, and the judicial branch determines if an
individual is responsible for violating criminal law. In Chapter 1, students are exposed to classifications
of criminal law and distinguish between public laws (criminal laws) and private laws (civil law and tort
law), as well as felonies and misdemeanors. This chapter includes a discussion of the goals of the criminal
justice system and how those goals intersect with, and are shaped by, the reasons that people commit
crimes. This chapter analyzes the constitutional limitations of police power as it is used to define criminal
conduct, including discussions of the principle of legality, the Ex Post Facto Clause, the bill of attainder
clause, the “void for vagueness” and “overbreadth” doctrines, and the Due Process and Equal Protection
Clauses. The concept of status offenses is also introduced, and discussion of these concepts is supported
through the presentation of case law. Finally, the chapter provides context for students by tracing the
origin of common law crimes, and its evolution of its role in criminal law today.
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
LO 1. Identify the branches of government and their relationship to the criminal law.
LO 2. Describe the difference between public law and private law, including the difference between
criminal law and tort law.
LO 3. List the reasons people commit crimes and the reasons they do not.
LO 4. Discuss the four generally recognized goals of the criminal justice system.
LO 5. Explain the meaning of police power.
LO 6. Identify the general limitations on the exercise of the police power of government.
LO 7. Describe the classification of crimes and the principle of legality.
LO 8. List and describe five specific constitutional limitations on the power to create a criminal law.
LO 9. Define circumstances that would make a criminal law a status crime.
LO 10. Trace the origin of the common law and its place in criminal law today.
[return to top]
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 2
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Gardner & Anderson, Criminal Law, 14e, 2026, 9780357935507; Chapter 1: Criminal Law: Purposes, Scope, and Sources
WHAT’S NEW IN THIS CHAPTER
The following elements are improvements in this chapter from the previous edition:
Classification of Crimes section moved to follow Goals and Purposes of Criminal Law.
New chapter opener vignette.
Statistics update on crimes in the U.S.
Update to police power content with new example.
New box on Substantive and Procedural Due Process.
New 2022 case on gun regulations, where the Court appears now to have a new approach to
determining when a state can regulate ownership or possession of guns.
Updates to the SORNA material.
New box, “You Be the Attorney General”.
New Supreme Court case on retroactive application of the Johnson decision.
2019 common law crime case from Massachusetts added.
Four new Case Analysis exercises.
[return to top]
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The following outline organizes activities (including any existing discussion questions in PowerPoints or other
supplements) and assessments by chapter (and therefore by topic), so that you can see how all the content
relates to the topics covered in the text.
I. Important Concepts in Criminal Law (01.O1, 01.02, 01.03, ppt. slides 4–9)
A. Democracies seek to achieve their goals through laws that balance the rights of individuals
with the needs of society. The goals of a legal system of laws are public order, domestic
tranquility, and protection of basic rights.
B. Laws are enforced in the United States by officials in each of the three branches of
government: legislative, executive, and judicial. Laws are enacted by a legislature and
signed or vetoed by the chief executive. The executive branch is responsible for enforcing
and administering the laws. The judicial branch administers trials in courts, and laws are
interpreted via a process called judicial review.
C. In the United States the state judicial system contains state trial courts where jury trials
occur and convictions are entered. Criminal cases are appealed through the state appellate
courts and possibly also to the “top tier,” usually referred to as the state supreme court.
D. A defendant convicted at the state level has the ability to appeal to the United States Supreme
Court using a writ of certiorari, or a request of the Court to hear a case. If the Court agrees, it
sends a written order to the lower court for its case materials. If a writ is denied, the
conviction is final, but other post-convictions means of relief may also exist. A confined
person may also file a writ of habeas corpus or a form of federal and state post-conviction that
asks an incarcerating authority to explain its confinement of a person.
E. Federal district courts typically serve as federal trial courts and are organized into eleven
circuits, plus the District of Columbia and Federal Circuits. Each circuit also has an
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 3
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Gardner & Anderson, Criminal Law, 14e, 2026, 9780357935507; Chapter 1: Criminal Law: Purposes, Scope, and Sources
appellate counterpart to address appeals from the district courts in the circuit.
F. Criminal law is part of public law, or laws that apply to everyone in a given jurisdiction.
Public law enforcement agencies (police, prosecutors, courts, corrections) make up the
criminal justice system in England and the United States. Criminal law is a form of public
law and civil law is a form of private law. A tort is a non-contractual civil wrong.
G. Laws that define and regulate criminal conduct are called substantive law. In addition,
criminal procedure regulates the steps of the process from arrest through punishment and
release of the offender.
H. Criminology and criminalistics are fields that are separate from but related to substantive
criminal law. Criminology is the study of the general causes of crime and creation of
criminal laws. Criminalistics is often called forensic science which is the science and
scientific testing of evidence with results used as evidence in criminal court.
I. Substantive criminal law defines the conduct that society requires to preserve public
order and protect property rights. In criminal statutes, the conduct is called actus reus.
Not all wrongs are criminal wrongs; a civil wrong is a private wrong such as a tort or a
contract violation.
J. Criminal laws are strongest when they reflect the moral and ethical beliefs of the society.
When many believe that something is morally wrong and criminal, the law is
strengthened. Society uses many sanctions besides criminal law to encourage people to
behave properly. Examples include regulations and peer pressure.
II. Goals and Purposes of Criminal Law (01.04, ppt slide 10–11)
A. From colonial times through WWI, criminal laws focused on the most serious crimes as
society was still agrarian. Most believed that crime was morally wrong and so many
informal institutions, such as church and family, held sway over many kinds of behavior.
B. As society became more industrialized, informal institutions lost their influence.
Deterioration of informal social control led to a rise in lawmaking, but criminal justice
still has many goals and purposes.
C. The criminal justice system has generally recognized goals and purposes: (a) Discourage and
deter people from committing crimes; (b) Protect society from dangerous and harmful people;
(c) Punish people who have committed crimes; (d) Rehabilitate and reform people who have
committed crime.
D. Deterrence is a major goal of the criminal justice system but crime rates have fallen in
recent years due to the aging population and falling unemployment rates.
III. Classification of Crimes (01.07, ppt slides 12–13)
A. Crimes in the United States may be classified according to source, as statutory, common
law, administrative, or constitutional crimes.
B. The most common classifications of laws are felonies or misdemeanors. A felony is the
most serious crime, generally punished by a year or more in prison. Many states and the
federal government provide for the death penalty for most serious of felonies. A
misdemeanor is considered less serious than a felony. A misdemeanor may be punished
by incarceration in a local jail for a period of time less than one year.
C. The felony/misdemeanor classification is important for many reasons. A felony impacts
employment, credit rating, adopting a child. Felony charges provide the right to a
preliminary hearing/grand jury. Laws governing arrest for a felony differ from a
misdemeanor.
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 4
accessible website, in whole or in part.
