Product Description

Part of the unique, time-tested <i>Examples & Explanations</i> series, <b> Examples & Explanations: Criminal Law, Fourth Edition</b> combines textual material with well-written and comprehensive examples, explanations, and questions to test students' understanding of the material and provide practice in applying information to fact patterns. Utilizing well-known cases, this brief text is an ideal supplemental source for your Criminal Law course. Additionally, the questions, which call upon a variety of issues in one fact pattern, mirror those that students will face on a law school or bar examination, affording them valuable practice. <p class="copymedium"> <b>Many great features maintain the reliability of this text:</b> </p> <ul> <li class="copymedium"> utilizes current, well-known cases, some of which have not made the appellate courts or even gone to litigation, to make the material current and easily applicable </li> <li class="copymedium"> includes explanations that provide analysis of both prosecution and defense arguments, offering a pedagogical approach that provides valuable exam-writing skills for students </li> <li class="copymedium"> remains highly readable and accessible, often incorporating popular culture and humor to spark interest in students </li> <li class="copymedium"> comes highly recommended by Atticus Falcon, author of Planet Law School, an orientation guide for students beginning law school </li> <li class="copymedium"> offers a straightforward presentation through clear, introductory text that enables students to understand and apply principles </li> <li class="copymedium"> incorporates visual aids, in the form of graphs, charts and other illustrations, to demonstrate legal standards and concepts </li> </ul> <p class="copymedium"> <b>Updated to reflect recent developments in the news and case law since the Third Edition was published, including:</b> </p> <ul> <li class="copymedium"> more coverage of new excuses, such as Prozac, Serotonin, Testosterone, etc. </li> <li class="copymedium"> examples and explanations based on prescription drug-induced sleepwalking, death caused by abuse of time-release pain-killing patches, and void for vagueness challenges to laws limiting where sex offenders can live or travel </li> <li class="copymedium"> Florida self-defense and right-to-carry laws </li> <li class="copymedium"> recent Supreme Court cases on the insanity defense (<i>Arizona v. Clark</i>) and duress (<i>Dixon v. United States</i>) </li> <li class="copymedium"> recent Supreme Court case on mental competency </li> <li> over 50 new examples, including materials on <ul> <li> steroid rage </li> <li> the Zoloft (Prozac) defense </li> <li> terrorism statutes and prosecutions </li> <li> the San Francisco dog maul case </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p>

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2455 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-26
• Released on: 2007-02-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 580 pages

Customer Reviews

Almost Worthless
This book is not in the same league as other E&E books. It is not very clear, the charts are confusing and some parts of the book give downright wrong information. If you have a teacher who emphasizes the MPC, this book is a total waste. Otherwise, it's a total mess. Do NOT use this book to teach yourself the course because some of the information is wrong and unless you already know the material well enough to pick out the bad information, you will be screwing yourself. I would not recommend this to anyone.

Pay attention to reviews/editions
I have analyzed a lot about the way these reviews work. It is important to pay attention to the review date, and the edition release up top.

You'll find reviews of older editions on newer editions pages which isn't fair.

All-in-all the newer editions are incredible. It is worth giving them a shot. I swear people go into these with the wrong attitudes--they want it all on a silver platter. If you want to be lazy and skip the learning that evovles through outlining yourself go ahead and get Emanuels. However if you like to work through problems, deepen your understanding, and practice, then go for these.

That's not to say Emanuels isn't any good, but I wouldn't use it for anything other than making sure all my ducks were in a row.

An excellent tool for One-L's taking Criminal Law
This book is an excellent tool for One-L's (first year law students) taking Criminal Law classes. The book begins with a thumbnail discussion on the major schools of thought of the justification of punishment; the authors are retributivist. A great handling of Actus Reus (the criminal act) and all-important Mens Rea (the guilty mind) proceed the substantive crimes (e.g. homicide, rape, and theft) and defenses. This book is most useful for law students and a perfect supplement to the casebook "Crimes and Punishment: Cases, Materials, and Readings in Criminal Law" by Singer and Martin R. Gardner. This book is not in depth enough to read solely for its philosophical discussions, but does pose some good questions. Its main function is to teach the foundations of Criminal Law not specific to any jurisdiction within the US.

The book covers the foundations of the criminal law and the comparative approach balances the MPC (Model Penal Code) with the Common Law.! The layout of the book is easy to follow and learn from (even outline.)

Each section ends with Example questions and Explanations. These section endings are indispensable as opportunities for the reader to apply the newly learned rules to new situations.

The book contains several charts that summarize and compare (MPC to Common Law) a section of law. No Pictures are included, and it does not need them.