Criminalization and Decriminalization

Criminalization is the legislative decision to make a noncriminal act into a criminal act. Decriminalization is just the opposite; it is the legislative decision to make a once criminal act into a noncriminal act. This decision may also be a judicial one. Judges have the power to criminalize and/or decriminalize behavior. In some instances, that decision may be more informal (as to not sentence persons for acts that the judges deem unworthy of punishment), and therefore they do not strictly enforce them. In other cases, the legislature ...