Carl Joseph Anton Mittermaier (5 August 1787, in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

– 28 August 1867, in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

) was a German

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

. Historian

Richard J. Evans Sir Richard John Evans (born 29 September 1947) is a British historian of 19th- and 20th-century Europe with a focus on Germany. He is the author of eighteen books, including his three-volume '' The Third Reich Trilogy'' (2003–2008). Evans was ...

has described him as the 'nineteenth century's most influential critic of the death penalty'.

Biography

He was born in

, in the

Electorate of Bavaria The Electorate of Bavaria () was a quasi-independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Bavaria was the younger ...

, and educated at the universities of

Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...

and

. For some years he was professor at Landshut, then professor at

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

for two years, 1819–21. For the rest of his life he was professor of law and jurisprudence at Heidelberg. Mittermaier was a member of the

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

legislature for nearly 20 years previous to 1841, when his grief at the death of his son caused him to withdraw. During that time, he had been three times president of the legislature. When he resumed his seat in 1846, he was again president during the session of 1847–48. In 1848 he was president of the Frankfurt Pre-Parliament (), serving afterwards as representative of the city of Baden in the Parliament, where he advocated confederation, but opposed all extreme measures. Mittermaier was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1845,American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
/ref> and a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1853.

Work

His greatest claim to distinction lies in his extensive writings on

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

, among which is a complete manual of

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

, ''Das deutsche Strafverfahren'', and he was an earnest advocate of reform in the German

criminal procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...

and in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

discipline. The number of his published writings is very large, including many treatises on branches of law, discussions on all the important questions of his time connected with jurisprudence, and especially on trial by jury and the penal code. Mittermaier used statistical evidence to claim that capital punishment was an ineffective deterrent, and influenced other German opponents of the death penalty such as Friedrich Noellner. Among his works are: *''Handbuch des peinlichen Prozesses'' (2 vols., Heidelberg, 1810–12) His first work on criminal law, later republished, enlarged and modified, under the title of ''Das deutsche Strafverfahren''. *''Lehrbuch des deutschen Privatrechts'' (Landshut, 1821) Subsequently, merged into his ''Grundsätze des gemeinen deutschen Privatrechts'' *''Theorie des Beweises im peinlichen Prozesse'' (2 vols., Darmstadt, 1821) Expounds principles relating to the examination of witnesses in criminal law. *''Der gemeine deutsche bürgerliche Prozess'' (1820–26) Contains a comprehensive exposition of the principles upon which civil trials should be conducted. *''Das deutsche Strafverfahren in der Fortbildung durch Gerichtsgebrauch und Particulargesetzgebung'' (2 vols., 1832) This passed through many editions. *''Lehrbuch des Criminalprozesses'' A manual of criminal law that passed through numerous editions. *''Die Lehre vom Beweise im deutschen Strafprozesse'' (1834; French translation, 1848; Spanish, 1851) Also expounds principles relating to the examination of witnesses in criminal law. *''Grundsätze des gemeinen deutschen Privatrechts, mit Einschluss des Handel-, Wechsel- und Seerechts'' (2 vols., Ratisbon, 1837–38) *''Italienische Zustände'' (Heidelberg, 1844) Embodies the result of his observations during frequent visits to Italy. *''Die Mündlichkeit, das Anklageprincip, die Oeffentlichkeit und das Geschworenengericht'' (Stuttgart, 1845) This brings the investigation and the enactments relating to trial by jury down to the period of its publication. *''Das deutsche Strafverfahren in der Fortbildung durch Gerichtsgebrauch und Landesgesetzbücher'' (Heidelberg, 1845–46) A complete manual of criminal law, considered his greatest work by some. *''Das englische, schottische und nordamerikanische Strafverfahren'' (Erlangen, 1851) Examines the administration of justice in England, Scotland, and the United States. *''Anleitung zur Vertheidigungskunst im Criminalprozesse'' (translated into Italian by Garba, 1858) Also expounds principles relating to the examination of witnesses in criminal law. *''Die Gefängnissverbesserung'' (Improving prisons, 1858) *''Der gegenwärtige Zustand der Gefängnissfrage'' (The current standing of the prison question, 1860) *''Die Todesstrafe'' &c. (The death penalty; Heidelberg, 1862) *''Erfahrungen über die Wirksamkeit der Schwurgerichte in Europa und Amerika'' (Experience with the utility of juries in Europe and America, 1865) His principal works have been translated into many languages. He himself translated

Francis Lieber Francis Lieber (18 March 1798 – 2 October 1872) was a German-American jurist and political philosopher. He is best known for the Lieber Code, the first codification of the customary law and the laws of war for battlefield conduct, which serve ...

's ''Letter on Anglican and Gallican Liberty'' into German, and edited the German translation of Lieber's ''Civil Liberty''.

References

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Biography

Work

References

Further reading