Regulatory laws took criminal form because private suits were impractical

Evidence

Most of the health laws were, in form, criminal statutes. This was because private lawsuits simply did not work as ways of enforcing these laws. Anybody could, in theory, sue someone who sold shoddy goods or a food product that made the buyer sick. In the twentieth century, the law of products liability expanded greatly. But that lay in the future. Meanwhile, who would or could go to court over a single can of spoiled peas? The state, however, assumed the cost and burden of enforcing criminal laws. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2639

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the ch43 claim that regulatory crimes emerged to solve diffuse-harm enforcement problems no private litigant would pursue. — connects to: Regulatory crimes emerged to solve diffuse-harm enforcement problems no private litigant would pursue. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1736; Regulatory crimes served as cheap administrative enforcement for business regulation — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3319
• DEFINE: Clarifies why diffuse-harm problems get routed into criminal-regulatory form rather than private tort — a key mechanism for the course’s institutional vocabulary.

Broader Connections

• Regulatory crimes served as cheap administrative enforcement for business regulation #corroborates (0.85) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3319