Understanding Criminal Law

This study seeks to present the key principles of criminal law in a comprehensive and readable style. Concentrating on the more theoretical issues, the main focus is on the general principles of criminal liability.

The fifth edition of Understanding Criminal Procedure is new in many respects. Most significantly, it has been enlarged to two volumes. The first volume is intended for use in criminal procedure courses focusing primarily or exclusively on police investigatory process. Such courses are variously titled: Criminal Procedure I; Criminal Procedure: Investigation; Criminal Procedure: Police Practices; Constitutional Criminal Procedure; etc. Because some such courses also cover the defendant's right to counsel at trial and appeal, the first volume includes a chapter on this non-police-practice issue. (The latter chapter is also included in Volume Two.) The second volume of Understanding Criminal Procedure covers the criminal process after the police investigation ends, and the adjudicative process commences. This book is useful in criminal procedure courses (variously entitled Criminal Procedure II; Criminal Procedure: Adjudication; etc.) that follow the criminal process through the various stages of adjudication, commencing with pretrial issues — such as charging, pretrial release and discovery — and continuing with the trial itself and then post-conviction proceedings: sentencing and appeals. Understanding Criminal Procedure is primarily designed for law students. The authors have written the Text so that students can use it with confidence that it will assist them in course preparation, and professors can recommend or assign the volumes to students with confidence that they will improve classroom dialogue. Based on comments that the authors received in the past from students and professors alike, they predict that this new, expanded edition of Understanding Criminal Procedure will serve the needs of students and professors even better. Also, based on the experience of prior editions, including citations to this Text in scholarly literature and judicial opinions, we are confident that the two volumes will prove useful to scholars, practicing lawyers, and courts. Understanding Criminal Procedure covers the most important United States Supreme Court cases in the field. Where pertinent, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, federal statutes, and lower federal and state court cases are considered. The broad overarching policy issues of criminal procedure are laid out; and some of the hottest debates in the field are considered in depth and, we think, objectively. Readers should find the Text user-friendly. Students who want a thorough grasp of a topic can and should read the relevant chapter in its entirety. However, each chapter is divided into subsections, so that readers with more refined research needs can find answers to their questions efficiently. The authors also include citations to important scholarship, both classic and recent, into which readers may delve more deeply regarding specific topics. And, because so many of the topics interrelate, cross-referencing footnotes are included, so that readers can easily move from one part of the Text to another, if necessary.

Understanding Criminal Law clarifies a subject which students often find somewhat difficult and confusing. This difficulty stems partly from the rapid changes which criminal law undergoes, through frequent statutory amendments and judicial decisions, but more importantly from the sheer complexity of the subject matter. This book provides a clear and concise text for those studying traditional black-letter substantive criminal law. The author takes a logical and straightforward approach, specifically designed to enable the reader to quickly master the basic principles and ensure examination success. Emphasis is given to major case law, relevant statutory provisions and writings of academic commentators. In selected areas the book evaluates the law and suggests possible reforms; this evaluative aspect is intended to stimulate the reader to think more critically about the subject without engendering confusion about basic principles. Although designed primarily for full-time undergraduate LLB students, the book should also prove useful for those studying criminal law on part-time courses, as well as those on Diploma in Law courses, and students of A and AS Level Law. It is also ideal for the study of criminal law on modular courses and joint degrees.

Providing an overview of the sociological approaches to law and criminal justice, this book focuses on how law and the criminal justice system inevitably affect one another, and the ways in which both are intimately connected with wider social forces.