penal code
Criminal punishment statutes
A penal code is a systematic collection of laws defining crimes and their punishments within a jurisdiction.
It codifies what conduct is criminal and prescribes penalties—fines, imprisonment, or other sanctions.
Most countries and U.S. states organize their criminal law this way: The California Penal Code classifies assault as a misdemeanor or felony depending on circumstances.
Formally enacted laws
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
- offensesViolations of law or rules
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- defendantParty facing charges
felony · misdemeanor · criminal charges · indictment · arraignment · trial · conviction · acquittal
Imposing legal punishment
- incarcerationConfinement in jail
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
- finesMonetary sanctions or particles
- probationSupervised trial period
parole · detention · correctional · rehabilitation · capital punishment · life sentence · community service · restitution
Divided portions of something
- articlesWritten works or items
- chaptersMain divisions of text
- clausesGrammatical or legal units
- subsectionsDivisions within divisions
amendments · definitions · exceptions · violations · infractions · classifications · degrees · aggravating factors
Adhering to requirements
- enforcementCompelling compliance with rules
- reformImprove by correcting faults
- codificationOrganizing rules into system
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
oversight · regulatory · standards · guidelines · restrictions · mandates · protocols · policies
statutes
Formally enacted laws
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
- offensesViolations of law or rules
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
defendant · felony · misdemeanor · criminal charges · indictment · arraignment · trial · conviction · acquittal · verdict
sentencing
Imposing legal punishment
- incarcerationConfinement in jail
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
- finesMonetary sanctions or particles
probation · parole · detention · correctional · rehabilitation · capital punishment · life sentence · community service · restitution · retribution
sections
Divided portions of something
subsections · amendments · definitions · exceptions · violations · infractions · classifications · degrees · aggravating factors · mitigating factors
compliance
Adhering to requirements
- enforcementCompelling compliance with rules
- reformImprove by correcting faults
- codificationOrganizing rules into system
jurisdiction · oversight · regulatory · standards · guidelines · restrictions · mandates · protocols · policies · decriminalization
- lawlaw, lawyer, lawyers, attorney, attorneys
- prisonsprison, inmates, cells, prisons, prisoner
- lawslaws, statute, ordinance, acts, statutes
- criminal lawcrime, felony, misdemeanor, murder, robbery
- legal fieldscivil law, criminal law, administrative law, common law, civil procedure
- legal systemsconstitutional law, judiciary, court system, laws, civil procedure
penal codecivil code
Codified private law system
civil law · tort law · commercial code · contract law · family law
penal codebill of rights
Document listing protected liberties
lawlessness · anarchy · state of nature · constitution · decriminalization
code, penalty, penalize, penal, penalties, codex, penalized, penalizing, penal codes