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.
Provides guidance for undergraduate law students in the problem solving method. The method adopted follows the five steps practitioners use when preparing an advice. Problems drawn from a wide variety of subject areas including contract, torts, criminal, constitutional and administrative law are posed and analysed.
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.
Justice for All identifies ten central flaws in the criminal justice system and offers an array of solutions – from status quo to evolution to revolution – to address the inequities and injustices that far too often result in courtrooms across the United States. From the investigatory stage to the sentencing and appellate stages, many criminal defendants, particularly those from marginalized communities, often face procedural and structural barriers that taint the criminal justice system with the stain of unfairness, prejudice, and arbitrariness. Systematic flaws in the criminal justice system underscore the inequitable processes by which courts deprive citizens of liberty and, in some instances, their lives. Comprehensive in its scope and applicability, the book focuses upon the procedural and substantive barriers that often prohibit defendants from receiving fair treatment within the United States criminal justice system. Each chapter is devoted to a particular flaw in the criminal justice system and is divided into two parts. First, the authors discuss in depth the underlying causes and effects of the flaw at issue. Second, the authors present a wide range of possible solutions to address this flaw and to lead to greater equality in the administration of criminal justice. The reader is encouraged throughout to consider and assess all possible options, then defend their choices and preferences. Confronting these issues is critical to reducing racial disparities and guaranteeing Justice for all. Describing the problems and assessing the solutions, Justice for All does not identify all problems or all solutions, but will be of immeasurable value to criminal justice students and scholars, as well as attorneys, judges, and legislators, who strive to address the pervasive flaws in the criminal justice system.
Rule of law has vanished in America’s criminal justice system. Prosecutors decide whom to punish; most accused never face a jury; policing is inconsistent; plea bargaining is rampant; and draconian sentencing fills prisons with mostly minority defendants. A leading criminal law scholar looks to history for the roots of these problems—and solutions.
Over the past forty years, the criminal justice system in the United States has engaged in a very expensive policy failure, attempting to punish its way to public safety, with dismal results. So-called "tough on crime" policies have not only failed to effectively reduce crime, recidivism, and victimization but also created an incredibly inefficient system that routinely fails the public, taxpayers, crime victims, criminal offenders, their families, and their communities. Strategies that focus on behavior change are much more productive and cost effective for reducing crime than punishment, and in this book, William R. Kelly discusses the policy, process, and funding innovations and priorities that the United States needs to effectively reduce crime, recidivism, victimization, and cost. He recommends proactive, evidence-based interventions to address criminogenic behavior; collaborative decision making from a variety of professions and disciplines; and a focus on innovative alternatives to incarceration, such as problem-solving courts and probation. Students, professionals, and policy makers alike will find in this comprehensive text a bracing discussion of how our criminal justice system became broken and the best strategies by which to fix it.
Finally, there is a Criminal Law study aid that teachers can recommend to their students with complete confidence: Singer and LaFond's CRIMINAL LAW: Examples and Explanations . Carefully designed to facilitate effective study, and written in a crisp, clear style, this book takes a practical three-step approach: Thorough descriptions explore and explain the concepts under consideration Examples give students an opportunity to test their comprehension by applying the law to contemporary fact patterns Explanations help them measure their mastery of the material and provide suggested answers and feedback Engaging student interest through stimulating hypotheticals, Singer and LaFond make their sophisticated analysis of criminal law not just painless, but actually fun to read. Both comprehensive and contemporary, CRIMINAL LAW: Examples and Explanations, covers provocative and timely subjects in eight major areas: the purposes of punishment Actus Reus and Mens Rea homicide causation inchoate crimes: solicitation and attempt group criminality: conspiracy and complicity rape defenses and excuses
