法律的道德和肉体力量在任何地方都比刑法更为明显。法律就是在这里授权政府夺取一个人的财产，自由甚至生命。法律既要授权政府保护其公民免受不法行为的侵害，又要保护公民免受最终政府权力的错误或错误运用。在致力于法治的国家中，法律要求政府明确界定和证明犯罪，并在严格的宪法限制内行使其权力。
The moral and physical force of the law is nowhere more evident than in criminal law. It is here that the law authorizes the government to take a person's property, liberty, or even their life. The law must both empower government to protect its citizens from lawless behavior and also protect citizens from the wrongful or mistaken application of the ultimate governmental power. In a nation dedicated to the rule of law, the law demands that government define and prove crimes with specificity and that it exercise its power within strict constitutional limitations.