About the Principle of Legality in Criminal Law

Criminal laws are like a deep ocean that only legal experts can successfully navigate. There are so many nuances relating to the criminal law that it can cause analysis paralysis and create more confusion for a layman.
Here we try to simplify important legal terms for our readers' knowledge. One important legal principle that we will shed light here is the 'principle of legality'. What does it mean? How does it affect a criminal case?  You will find out the answers here in this article.

A Close Look at the Principle of Legality

The principle of legality is one of the most fundamental concepts related to the criminal law in the US. The law offers protection of the legal rights of a person who faces a criminal charge. It is taken from the Latin phrase "llum crimen sine lege, nullapoena sine lege", which simply means no crime without punishment.
The main purpose of the principle of legality is to prevent a person from being wrongly charged with a crime. It ensures that the state or the federal body does not violate the basic human rights. No person no matter what is his or her nationality, race, age, gender, or class can be convicted of a crime without a fair trial.
Another connotation of the principle of legality is that a person cannot be charged with a crime if it does not constitute a criminal offense when the crime was being committed. Also, the person cannot be imposed a heavier penalty if it was imposed after the crime was committed.
The principle of legality implies that the jury cannot issue a verdict against a person if the action was not prohibited when the crime was committed. Also, it disallows a judge to lean in favor of any verdict that has been given without any reasonable or clear justification.

Get Help of a San Bernardino Criminal Defense Attorney

While the principle of legality, in theory, protects a person from being wrongly convicted of a crime, in practice mistakes sometimes happen. A person can be wrongly convicted of a crime if there is no adequate legal representation. That's why it's essential that a person facing a criminal conviction should get the help of an attorney who specializes in criminal cases.
A professional criminal law attorney in San Bernardino will look at all the evidence to ensure the person gets a minimum possible conviction verdict. The legal expert who specializes in criminal law will know when to appeal and when to accept the verdict of the jury. Getting the help of a criminal law attorney will help in getting the minimum possible penalty for an offense.