Benjamin Curtis, (1809-1874) Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comment on this quote Share via Email Print this Page Benjamin Curtis Quote “There can be no crime, there can be no misdemeanor without a law written or unwritten, express or implied.”Benjamin Curtis ~ Benjamin Curtis (1809-1874) Associate Justice of the US Supreme CourtDissenting in Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857) Impeachment , Crime , Law , Constitution Ratings and Comments Reply Mike, Norwalk 2/3/20 A back handed common law reference that gets somewhat lost in the weeds of the word salad — definitely more accurate than not. At natural law — the narrowly defined "the laws of nature and of nature's God" (Declaration of Independence), a law need not be written to exist. Gravity for example; gravity to date has not ben completely or exactly defined while, we all know of its existence by person experience. At man's administration of natural law, due process demands / requires a standard which includes a lawful definition of a/the crime. Reply jim k, Austin 2/3/20 Reply E Archer, NYC 2/8/20 'There can be no crime without a law' but can a law be written or unwritten, express or implied? The interpretation of the supposed law is still required — that is to say, written, not merely implied.I thought there could be no crime without mens rea, a malicious intent. First there has to be an injury to life, liberty, property. A jury may judge whether the injury was intentional, if so, it is criminal according to the Common Law. If unintentional, then no crime, but still amends are due if the injured party does not forgive the violation. SaveOk2 SaveOk2 View CommentsClick to view or comment. Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print This Benjamin Curtis quote is found in these categories: Impeachment quotes Crime quotes Law quotes Constitution quotes About Benjamin Curtis Bio of Benjamin Curtis Quotations by Benjamin Curtis Books by/about Benjamin Curtis Benjamin Curtis videos Benjamin Curtis on Wikipedia Astrological chart for Benjamin Curtis