Posted: January 31st, 2023

Identify an act that was deemed criminal in the past but is no longer

+++
+++

Directions: Your assignment should be a minimum of 2 1/2pages (including the original
questions), double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt font. Please include citations for your
references in APA format and the original questions as well. For assistance with APA
citations, please visit the Purdue OWL website at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/and
then click on the APA Guide icon in the bottom left corner of the screen.
As we are learning last week, substantive criminal law is constantly evolving as the result of
many factors, including social, political, economic and highly-publicized events (i.e. crimes or
sanctions). There are many acts today that are no longer criminal but were considered to be
criminal at one time. Similarly, there are acts today that are considered criminal that were not
deemed criminal in the past.
For example, domestic violence was not recognized as a serious social and legal problem until
around the 1970s and the term battered woman did not exist until 1974. Similarly, sexual
harassment was not identified until 1975, the crime of date rape did not exist until the early
1980s and stalking was not defined as a crime until the 1990s.
Here’s another example of how the law is constantly evolving: Many states have legalized the
use of medical marijuana and many other states are exploring this possibility.
Recently, in November 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service. Custom Essay Services Cheap, the states of Colorado and Washington became the first states to
legalize the recreational use of marijuana. However, the federal government still federal
Controlled Substances Act still currently classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug.
Click on the sites below to learn more about the debate over the legalization of marijuana
between the states of Colorado and Washington and the federal government, click on the links
below for some recent newspaper headlines on this issue:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/colorado-washington-states-legalize-recreationalmarijuana/story?id=17652774
https://essays.homeworkacetutors.com/write-my-essay/washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/27/atty-general-eric-h-holder-jr-states-to-getguidan/
Similarly, there are many examples of acts that were deemed criminal in the past but are no
longer considered criminal today. For example, from the 1960s – 2000, tattooing in
Massachusetts was actually considered to be illegal. For more information, please see the links
below:
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20001108&slug=TTK628PGJ
http://aclum.org/tattoos Yet another example is interracial marriage. Up until the Supreme Court decision, Loving v.
Virginia (1967), interracial marriage in the United State was illegal in many states.
Now, it is your turn to think of an example of (1) an act that were deemed criminal in the past but
are no longer criminal and (2) an act that was only recently deemed criminal.
Specifically, you should address the following questions:
(1) Identify an act that was deemed criminal in the past but is no longer labeled a crime.
(2) What factors contributed to this act being deemed noncriminal?
(3) Do you agree that this act should no longer be deemed criminal? Why or why not?
(4) Now identify an act that was only recently deemed criminal.
(5) What factors contributed to this act being labeled as a crime?
(6) Do you agree that this act should be labeled a crime? Why or why not?

–
–

Order | Check Discount