Criminal Law

This state-of the-art casebook is both easy and fun to use. It is designed to give you the basis for an enjoyable, comprehensive learning experience for your students, providing you with the sort of piquing materials that should prompt interested and insightful classroom discussion. The focus here is on teachability, rather than encyclopedic coverage of the field. Many modern, cutting-edge cases and related features are included, as well as the classic decisions, making it possible for you to show students the most current issues in the law as well as the traditional doctrinal underpinnings of this area. Numerous problem-style hypotheticals are also included throughout, serving to stimulate and encourage thought and discussion but also to help you focus your students on practice-oriented, analytical skills. Amazon Description.

This book was created as a teacher's book, a book that contains thought- provoking problems designed to cause reflection and stimulate interesting classroom discussion. The problems, woven throughout each chapter, are designed to help students learn doctrine, illuminate trends in the law, and ultimately produce better learning. A secondary goal was to include a focus on teaching skills. Some of the problems place students in practical situations they are likely to encounter in practice, therefore encouraging students to think about how they might handle these situations. Amazon Description

This book provides a quick reference to criminal offenses and defenses in Texas. The book is organized in alphabetical order by criminal offense. Each offense is explained in detail with the author first discussing the elements of the offense, then looking at possible defenses and punishments. Each criminal offense also has references to relevant parts of the penal code. Also case law is discussed to show how and why different parts of the code have developed the way they have.

The popular Glannon Guide to Criminal Law is a concise, clear, effective review of criminal law topics organized around multiple-choice questions. Employing a student-friendly, accessible tone, this text includes brief explanatory text about each topic under discussion, followed by one or two multiple-choice questions. After each question, the author explains how the correct choice was chosen and clarifies why other options were not correct. A more sophisticated “Closer” question at the end of each chapter challenges students to stretch their analytical abilities and examine subtle nuances of the topic. Unlike other titles, this approach emphasizes learning the concepts, rather than simply mastering test-taking techniques.

Key New Features

Integrates multiple-choice questions into a full-fledged review of first-year criminal law course.
Clear explanations of correct and incorrect answers help to clarify nuances in the law.
Focuses on both common law and Model Penal Code concepts.
Multiple-choice questions are sophisticated but fair , neither too difficult nor unrealistically straightforward.
Detailed discussion of new issues in criminal law, including bullying, rape law reform, statutory causation issues, and sentencing.
A more challenging final question in each chapter (the “ Closer”) illustrates a more sophisticated problem in the area under discussion.
“Closing Closer” questions in the last chapter provide practice and helpful review of concepts in earlier chapters.
Per publisher's description.

Mastering Criminal Law provides a clear and concise consideration of the fundamental structure of a crime, including statutory interpretation and sentencing. It has chapters on the typical crimes covered in most criminal law casebooks, namely homicide, rape, assault and battery, and theft. It extends the study to newer forms of crimes, such as criminal enterprises, and includes chapters on accomplice liability, solicitation, attempt and conspiracy. The book covers the traditional defenses seen in criminal law courses and also examines the concept of what is a defense. Cultural defenses and the right to present a defense are included. Many factual examples come from real-world cases. The learning tools used throughout the book provide an overview of the subject, reinforcement of basic principles, and a better understanding of criminal law principles.

This book is part of the Carolina Academic Press Mastering Series edited by Russell L. Weaver, University of Louisville School of Law. Amazon Description

Understand better what you're learning in Criminal Law class and prepare effectively for exams by applying concepts as you learn them. This study guide includes over 150 multiple-choice and short-answer questions arranged topically for ease of use during the semester, plus an additional set of 16 questions comprising a comprehensive "practice exam."
For each multiple-choice question, Attorney Levine and Professor Marcus provide a detailed answer that indicates which of four options is the best answer and explains thoroughly why that option is better than the other three options. Each short-answer question is designed to be answered in fifteen minutes or less. For these questions, Professor Marcus and Attorney Levine provide a thoughtful, comprehensive, yet brief model answer, per publisher's description.

Containing all relevant provisions of the Texas Penal Code, this compact treatise describes the "general part" of Texas criminal law, the fundamental requirements for crimes, the statutory defenses, inchoate crimes, and even a chapter on homicide. Written in a comprehensible narrative style, but including notes, commentary, and references to the most important cases interpreting the statutes, this volume is designed for students of Texas criminal law, whether they be experienced practitioners, criminal justice professionals, law students, or persons interested in learning more about the essential principles governing offenses and defenses in Texas.

Publisher's Description

The smartly organized Texas Criminal Practice Guide is the reference attorneys turn to for analysis of criminal law in Texas. First published in 1979, the guide's six volumes are arranged by section to correspond with the progression of the Texas criminal justice system, making their detailed information easy to access, whether you're a new attorney or an experienced practitioner. Each volume contains a number of chapters divided into four parts:

Legal Background - procedural and substantive law treating the constitutional, statutory, and case law considerations in each area.
Practice Guide - checklists and procedural steps outlined in chronological order.
Forms - for applying the law and procedure.
Research Guide - to direct you toward other sources of useful information.

Criminal Law discusses virtually every substantive criminal issue in Texas in a detailed, analytical manner and practice-oriented writing style. It includes caselaw discussion and citation to authority, and comprehensive coverage of:

Burden of proof; Multiple prosecutions; Culpability; Parties' liability and corporate liability; Defenses; Justification excluding criminal responsibility; Punishment; Preparatory offenses; Homicide; False imprisonment and kidnapping; Sexual offenses; Assaultive offenses; Property offenses; Robbery; Burglary; Theft; Fraud offenses; Perjury and other falsification; Obstruction of governmental operations; Abuse of office; Offenses against public order; Offenses relating to prostitution; Offenses against public health and safety; Gambling; Organized crime; Driving while intoxicated; and Controlled substances.

Designed for use in a 1L Criminal Law course, this new casebook covers the traditional criminal law topics; because Texas is a Model Penal Code jurisdiction, it focuses primarily on Texas cases and statutes. Student self-assessment features include comprehension questions to test understanding of the basic concepts, as well as discussion questions that test students ability to apply the basic concepts beyond the facts of the presented case. Practice multiple-choice and essay questions at the end of most chapters give students additional opportunities to assess their knowledge.

Publisher's Description

This comprehensive and clearly written Understanding treatise is frequently cited by scholars and courts in their analysis of substantive criminal law, and has been a popular source of assistance to criminal law students for the past quarter century. Understanding Criminal Law is designed to be taught in conjunction with any casebook. The topics covered are those most often raised in criminal law casebooks, and coverage of these subjects is meant to complement professors' classroom discussions. The text focuses on the basic elements of, and defenses to, all crimes; provides in-depth coverage of such crimes as homicide, rape, and theft; and covers other important topics covered in the Criminal Law course, such as accomplice and inchoate liability. Understanding Criminal Law also covers theories of punishment, sources of the criminal law, and overarching principles such as legality and proportionality. The common law is emphasized with extensive comparisons to the Model Penal Code and modern statutes. This edition offers the most significant updating ever, including coverage of quickly-changing legal areas, such as sexual assault and self-defense law. Recent and ongoing revisions to the Model Penal Code are also covered.

Publisher's Description

This Understanding treatise is divided into four parts:

The first part provides a general overview, with definitions to key terms that appear throughout the book. It covers the area of jurisdiction, as this is the starting point in determining the applicability of using international law.

The second part covers selected areas of international criminal law. It is not exhaustive of all areas of international or transnational law. Choices of specific crimes to cover were made on the basis of showing a diversity of topics, new and developing areas such as computer crimes, and the older more traditional areas such as piracy. It provides materials on both violent and non-violent crimes. Areas of immediate importance, such as terrorism and narcotics trafficking, are discussed.

The third part covers procedural issues. It includes constitutional issues, immunities, obtaining evidence from abroad, obtaining people from abroad, and post conviction issues such as prisoner transfers.

The final part of this treatise covers the international aspects of international criminal law. In addition to examining what constitutes an international crime, it looks at human rights issues, international tribunals, and the International Criminal Court.

Publisher's Description

Mastering Criminal Law explores the basic principles useful in the study of criminal law, offering real world examples to understand these concepts. It provides a clear and concise consideration of the fundamental structure of a crime including statutory interpretation and sentencing. It has chapters on the typical crimes covered in most criminal law casebooks, namely, homicide, rape, assault and battery, and theft. Additionally, it covers accomplice liability, solicitation, attempt and conspiracy. It also covers defenses, including the right to present a defense. It distinguishes different approaches such as the Common Law and Model Penal Code and provides examples of different state statutes.
This book is part of the Carolina Academic Press Mastering Series edited by Russell L. Weaver, University of Louisville School of Law.

Publisher's Description