9412044 HELMHOLZ This project uses quantitative methods and economic theory to understand how, when, and why key aspects of modern Anglo- American criminal law emerged. Modern Anglo-American criminal law is characterized by two features that differ from the origins of public legal authority: (1) public agents, rather than the victim, exercise the power to prosecute; and (2) criminal sanctions are punitive rather than compensatory. The proposed research explores the origins and consequences of the shift to public prosecution and punitive sanctions in medieval England. Through analysis of manuscript sources in Great Britain's Public Records Office, the project will seek to confirm preliminary research that suggests that this key shift occurred in the early thirteenth century, nearly a century later than usually believed. It will also seek evidence to document the hypothesis that the shift to public prosecution and punitive sanctions was the unintended consequence of a procedural change to judicial prosecution of discontinued private accusations, which was probably introduced for other reasons such as increasing royal revenue. The consequences of this shift away from a system based on private incentive were primarily negative, however, including a doubling in the rate of flight from justice and a decline in the rate of prosecution of most crime. The proposed research will develop important historical data and contribute to our theoretical understanding of the development of criminal law. It also has implications for criminal justice policy-making. ***
