A highly distinguished criminal jurist, born at Jena, where he studied philosophy and law; at 23 came into prominence by a vigorous criticism of Hobbes's theory on civil power; and soon afterwards, in lectures on criminal jurisprudence he set forth his famous theory, that in administering justice judges should be strictly limited in their decisions by the penal code; this new doctrine gave rise to a party called "Rigorists," who supported his theory; he held professorships in Jena and in Kiel, and in 1804 was appointed to an official post in Münich; in 1814 he became president of the Court of Appeal at Anspach; his chief work was the framing of a penal code for Bavaria, which became a model for several other countries (1775-1833).