By 1846, Friedberg had become a key figure in Prussian legislative reforms. Under
Prussian Justice Minister Alexander von Uhden, he was instrumental in establishing oral and public trial procedures in Prussia. Friedberg advocated for a strong public prosecution system that would investigate all legal violations while also considering exculpatory evidence. He also sought to grant prosecutorial authority over police investigations, though this idea was not fully implemented. In 1850, Friedberg became Chief Public Prosecutor in
Greifswald and also taught as a private lecturer at the
University of Greifswald. He later moved to the Prussian Ministry of Justice in
Berlin, where he was appointed
Geheimer Justizrat (Privy Judicial Councillor) in 1854 and
Geheimer Oberjustizrat (Senior Privy Judicial Councillor) in 1857. In 1868, Friedberg was tasked with drafting a penal code for the
North German Confederation. His efforts led to the completion of the code on 31 May 1870, which took effect on 1 January 1871. Following the establishment of the
German Empire, this penal code was largely adopted as the
Reichsstrafgesetzbuch (Imperial Penal Code). He also contributed to discussions on military law as a member of the Military Penal Code Commission and as a federal commissioner. In 1870, Friedberg was appointed President of the Judicial Examination Commission. In 1872, he became
Wirklicher Geheimer Oberjustizrat (Real Senior Privy Judicial Councillor) and a member of the
Prussian House of Lords. By 1873, he was
Undersecretary of State in the Prussian Ministry of Justice, where he drafted a German Code of Criminal Procedure. In 1875, he was appointed Crown Syndic, and on December 21, 1876, he became State Secretary of the newly created
Imperial Justice Office under Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck. In 1879, he succeeded Adolph Leonhardt as Prussian Minister of State and Minister of Justice, a position he held until 1889. For his service, he was ennobled in 1888 upon receiving the
Order of the Black Eagle by Emperor
Frederick III. He resigned from his official positions in 1889. Friedberg became a
Protestant early in his career. He died in 1895 at the age of 82 in Berlin. He was buried in the
Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof in
Schöneberg, but his grave has not been preserved. Among his works may be mentioned "
Entwurf einer Deutschen Strafprozessordnung", Berlin, 1873 == See also ==