Law and Crimes
This is a free country. So why can’t we do anything we feel like doing? Here’s the answer: Possibly we could if each of us lived entirely alone. But this is not possible. America is a land of freedom -- freedom to do as we wish and go where we will--but only if we do not trespass on the rights of others.
“Your right to swing your fist,” said a famous judge, “ends at the point where the other fellow’s nose begins.”
In America, the people who elect to govern us make our laws. They make them to meet your needs and the needs of all of us. Occasionally, a law turns out to be foolish and unfair, and most people decide they dislike it. When that happens, they can work to have the law changed or repealed. However, it must be obeyed until it is repealed or changed.
There are two kinds of laws or rules which people must live by -- civil law and criminal law. Both kinds protect you. Civil law regulates private rights and agreements between people. It has to do with the sale of property and business contracts. If you and your parents have a disagreement with someone over money or property, and arguing gets you nowhere, you may take the disagreement to a civil court. Here the judge, who represents the state, acts as a referee to decide who is right. Criminal law regulates private rights and guarantees to everyone the right to safety of his person and his property. Penalties are provided for those who violate criminal law.
A crime is committed when a criminal law is broken. There are two kinds of crime: Felonies are the more serious. They include serious assault, murder, and grand larceny (the theft of money or objects usually having a value of more than $50 or more than $100, depending on the state you live in.) Anyone who commits a felony can be sent to a state prison for a year or more, and some states for some kinds of felony, can be put to death. Misdemeanors are less serious crimes, like stealing money or goods of lesser value for which the punishment may be fine or imprisonment up to a year in a jail or some place other than a state prison. An adult who is convicted of either a felony or a misdemeanor has a criminal record, and a criminal record can wreck your whole life. Violations of some laws, such as city ordinances, are not felonies or misdemeanors, but are offenses that are also considered criminal, and may be punishable by fines or short terms of imprisonment. City ordinances deal with such things as traffic violations and disturbing the peace.