Portland Criminal Law

Penal law aka Criminal law covers the rules for case with the potential for severe punishments, this death sentences, extended criminal sentences,  substantial fines and long-term governmental supervision.  Criminal law, unlike civil law (which is enforced by private parties),  is handled by governmental agencies.  The main objectives of  the enforcement of criminal law are the types of punishments: restitution, rehabilitation, deterrence, incapacitation and retribution.  You will need you your Portland criminal attorney to go over these more thoroughly, but the basic explanations are as follows:

Restitution: The objective of this punishment is to provide re-compensation to the victim.  This is often in addition to other punishments and is most often Monetary.

Rehabilitation: The goal of this one is to prevent further incidences from occurring with the offender, and transform them to valuable society members.

Deterrence: This involves imposing a large penalty to a specific individual and thereby discouraging others from the same offense.

Incapacitation: This one is very simple.  Keep criminals away from the rest of society and prevent potential future crimes.

Retribution: This is main idea behind the punishment system, that a criminal must suffer in some way, whether through time or money or a combination of both.  Criminals have caused unfair treatment to others and often gained some advantage, albeit sometimes temporary, for themselves.  Retribution is an attempt to “balance the scales” back in favor of the law-abiding citizen.

As you can see being charged under criminal law cases is very serious, and you need a criminal defense lawyer who knows the law and will work towards your best interest.  Portland lawyers are some of the best in the nation, so make sure that you make use of an attorney in Portland right away.