Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1996
ISSN
0006-8047
Publisher
Boston University School of Law
Language
en-US
Abstract
In this Paper, I propose the following two step procedure to explain both the inclusion and exclusion of criminal utility. As a first step, I posit a full compliance utility function. This utility function includes all utilities for all activities and incorporates an assumption that all members of society will forego prohibited activities. Aa s preliminary matter, I will also presuppose common information and shared values within the community. I suggest that maximization of full compliance social utility determines what society prohibits. As a second step, I strip the social utility function of the utility from prohibited activities and drop the assumption of full compliance. I suggest that maximization of this stripped social utility function determines degrees of deterrence and enforcement.
Recommended Citation
Stephen G. Marks,
Utility and Community: Musings on the Tort/Crime Distinction
,
in
76
Boston University Law Review
215
(1996).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/2903
