A body of rules and statutes that
defines conduct prohibited by the government because it threatens and harms
public safety and welfare and that establishes punishment to be imposed for the
commission of such acts.
The term criminal law generally
refers to substantive criminal laws. Substantive criminal laws define crimes
and may establish punishments. In contrast, Criminal Procedure describes the
process through which the criminal laws are enforced. For example, the law
prohibiting murder is a substantive criminal law. The manner in which
government enforces this substantive law—through the gathering of evidence and
prosecution—is generally considered a procedural matter.

