The approach of A First-Year Course in Criminal Law: Trials, Appeals, Theories, Third Edition focuses students on preparing to discuss a single case per lecture. The author’s philosophy is “Teach one case a day and do it well.” To help students understand the big picture as well as the details, the organization strives for unification rather than departmentalization. Rather than treat crimes and defenses as “tubs on their own bottoms,” the defenses within the crimes are presented. In other words, the book brings out that crime occurs only in the absence of fully or partially successful exculpatory pleas. Although homicide is the crime that organizes the book, the elements and scope of other crimes are presented within the context of the law of homicide. Comprehension of assault, burglary, kidnapping, mayhem, robbery, and rape is crucial to the cases used to present the law of felony murder. Those crimes are analyzed in the cases, questions, and notes sufficiently to provide students with competency in the grammar of those crimes. New to the Third Edition: More patient explication of chapter introductions and sub-sections Reorganization of questions and notes to improve flow and avoid unintended redundancies Improved internal cross-references Increased emphasis on the function of mental illness in the role of fear in homicide cases Enhanced searchable citations Elaborated index Accounts for intervening changes in the law
Criminal Justice 101: A First Course is an introductory level book intended for beginning criminal justice students. It provides students with a practical, reader-friendly experience and we present and explain our materials, as much as possible, in an easy-to-read, conversational style. The fundamentals and basic tenets of criminal justice are explored in 12 chapters (easily covered in one semester) and we avoid the sometimes lengthy and oftentimes cumbersome information that is prevalent in so many other publications. Our text also attempts to eliminate the unnecessary legal formulations and esoteric terminology that the beginning criminal justice student may not always need. The book provides basic and fundamental information that can easily be absorbed by the beginning criminal justice student in one semester. It is our intent to provide a book that will engage students, rather than burdening them with information that may, at times, be overwhelming and unnecessary at the introductory level.
Buy a new version of this textbook and receive access to the Connected eBook with Study Center on CasebookConnect, including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities; practice questions from your favorite study aids; an outline tool and other helpful resources. Connected eBooks provide what you need most to be successful in your law school classes. Now in its 11th edition, Criminal Law and Its Processes: Cases and Materials covers all the doctrinal material and key criminal justice policy questions an instructor may want to explore for a either a one-semester or year-long course in criminal law. From a preeminent authorship team, Criminal Law and its Processes: Cases and Materials, Eleventh Edition, continues in the tradition of its best-selling predecessors by providing students not only with a cohesive policy framework through which they can understand and examine the use of criminal laws as a means for social control, but also analytic tools to understand and apply important criminal law doctrines. Criminal Law and its Processes: Cases and Materials focuses on having students develop a nuanced understanding of the underlying principles, rules, and policy rationales that inform all criminal laws. A cases-and-notes pedagogy along with scholarly excerpts, questions, and notes, provides students with a rich foundation for not only the academic examination of criminal laws but also the application of the law to real-world scenarios. New to the Eleventh Edition: Enhanced treatment of America’s long-overdue reckoning with over-criminalization, mass incarceration, and discriminatory law enforcement Discussion of abolitionist critiques of American penal law and consideration of restorative justice as a possible alternative to traditional punishment The chapter on rape makes more readily understandable the major split between states that still require proof of some kind of force and those that now make absence of consent sufficient. The material also contains more depth for discussion of the increasingly important question of what “consent” means, including several of the most recent cases and the new Model Penal Code provisions on rape approved by the ALI membership in June 2021. In-depth treatment of racial profiling and police use of excessive force, and a broader discussion of structural pressures and biases in the context of exploring the expansion of excuses Broader exploration of what society chooses to criminalize and prioritize for enforcement Updated notes to incorporate contemporary cases and recent news touching on criminal law Inclusion of additional preeminent cases in the field of criminal law, including: Kahler v. Kansas as a principal case in the material on the insanity defense Two new cases on the actus reus of conspiracy – the first in a drug distribution context and the second addressing Apple’s strategy for marketing ebooks on its iPad Professors and students will benefit from: Cohesive Intellectual Framework Grounds student understanding of criminal law as an instrument of social control?and provides analytical tools to interpret and understand doctrine Holistic approach encourages students to develop an understanding of principles and rules applicable to all crimes Cases-and-notes pedagogy Includes excerpted materials, questions, and problems useful for Socratic instruction and policy discussions Challenging Problems ? Places discussion of the law and policy in relevant, real-world scenarios Enhance students’ understanding of basic principles and test their application of these principles to particular offenses
The U.S. death penalty is a peculiar institution, and a uniquely American one. Despite its comprehensive abolition elsewhere in the Western world, capital punishment continues in dozens of American states– a fact that is frequently discussed but rarely understood. The same puzzlement surrounds the peculiar form that American capital punishment now takes, with its uneven application, its seemingly endless delays, and the uncertainty of its ever being carried out in individual cases, none of which seem conducive to effective crime control or criminal justice. In a brilliantly provocative study, David Garland explains this tenacity and shows how death penalty practice has come to bear the distinctive hallmarks of America’s political institutions and cultural conflicts. America’s radical federalism and local democracy, as well as its legacy of violence and racism, account for our divergence from the rest of the West. Whereas the elites of other nations were able to impose nationwide abolition from above despite public objections, American elites are unable– and unwilling– to end a punishment that has the support of local majorities and a storied place in popular culture. In the course of hundreds of decisions, federal courts sought to rationalize and civilize an institution that too often resembled a lynching, producing layers of legal process but also delays and reversals. Yet the Supreme Court insists that the issue is to be decided by local political actors and public opinion. So the death penalty continues to respond to popular will, enhancing the power of criminal justice professionals, providing drama for the media, and bringing pleasure to a public audience who consumes its chilling tales. Garland brings a new clarity to our understanding of this peculiar institution– and a new challenge to supporters and opponents alike.
This Handbook presents innovative research that compares different criminal procedure systems by focusing on the mechanisms by which legal systems seek to avoid error, protect rights, ground their legitimacy, expand lay participation in the criminal process and develop alternatives to criminal trials, such as plea bargaining, as well as alternatives to the criminal process as a whole, such as intelligence operations. The criminal procedures examined in this book include those of the United States, Germany, France, Spain, Russia, India, Latin America, Taiwan and Japan, among others.
Law students often find criminal law to be one of the most interesting, but also one of the most difficult courses. In Criminal Law: Model Problems and Outstanding Answers, Russell Christopher and Kathryn Christopher make criminal law both easier and more interesting by offering typical fact patterns and model answers, followed by an important self-assessment section.
Clear and easy to understand, Joel Samaha's best-selling CRIMINAL LAW helps you apply criminal law's enduring foundations and principles to fascinating, current court cases and specific crimes. With a balanced blend of case excerpts and author commentary, Samaha guides you as you hone your critical thinking and legal analysis skills. You'll see the principles, defenses, and elements of crime at work as you progress through the book-and you'll learn about the general principles of criminal liability and its defenses, as well as the elements of crimes against persons property, society, and crimes against the state. Featuring the latest topics and court cases, as well as many study tools to help you do well in this course, Samaha's CRIMINAL LAW is a text you will want to keep as a valuable reference even after you graduate and begin your career in the criminal justice field of your choosing. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.
