Biblical Worldview
As a starting point for research, one should take Exodus from the second book of the Old Testament. First, it legally accurately reproduces the Ten Commandments (King James Version, 2017, Ex. 20:2-17), and generally presents binding norms of behavior in a systematic form (King James Version, 2017, Ex. 21:1-36; 22:1-31; 23:1-33), which are the prototypes of future branches of law, including for the most part – criminal law. It is noteworthy that punishment and the very term “crime,” which is one of the most important in the science of criminal law, is rooted in the fall of Adam and Eve, for the first crime was nothing more than a transgression of the commandment of God. Thus, historically and etymologically, the phrase “to commit a crime” means, both from the biblical and legal point of view, “to overstep the law” (be it the law of God or the criminal law).
Constitutional Foundations
Criminal justice policy development has become widespread over the past two decades (Ismaili, 2006). In the United States, there is no federal criminal code in its generally accepted understanding. In addition, the US Constitution does not explicitly limit the powers of the federation and local states in criminal matters. Furthermore, Section 8 of Art. I argues that the power to make decisions concerning criminal law rests with Congress. It may also make all laws necessary for the exercise of the rights of the United States Government under the Constitution. (U.S. Const. art. I, § 8). Perhaps this constitutional provision served as the basis for the highly intensive development of federal criminal legislation. Finally, most of the criminal laws have been enacted by the states, while at the federal level, their number was very small.
References
Ismaili, K. (2006). Contextualizing the criminal justice policy-making process. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 17(3), 255–269. Web.
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible online. Web.