In recent years, we have learned much about how police, defendants, and prosecutors are affected by different policies. At the same time, economic theory is being forgotten or disregarded. Even more so today, economists and political scientists treat “the enforcement apparatus of police, courts, prosecutors, and legislature as a philosopher-king, with imperfect knowledge but only the best of motives” (Friedman Law’s order: What economics has to do with law and why it matters. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2001). This special issue contains a sampling of papers at the intersection of criminal justice and public choice. Our introduction discusses the recent literature on criminal justice and calls for a multifaceted empirical approach that incorporates the insights of public choice theory.

近年来，我们对警察、被告和检察官如何受到不同政策的影响有了很多了解。与此同时，经济理论正在被遗忘或忽视。今天更是如此，经济学家和政治学家将“警察、法院、检察官和立法机关的执行机构视为哲学家国王，知识不完善，但动机最好”（弗里德曼定律：经济学与经济学有什么关系）法律及其重要性。普林斯顿大学出版社，普林斯顿，2001）。本期特刊包含刑事司法和公共选择交叉领域的论文样本。我们的引言讨论了有关刑事司法的最新文献，并呼吁采用多方面的实证方法，其中结合了公共选择理论的见解。