Product Description

The Third Edition of The American Dictionary of Criminal Justice is a reference every student of the criminal justice system should own. Like any good dictionary, this resource will assist students in a variety of courses--as well as in writing papers and understanding terminology in journal articles. Over 5,000 terms, concepts, and names are included in the new edition, as well as over 125 new U.S. Supreme Court cases.
The Terms Section
The dictionary's interdisciplinary approach greatly enhances its effectiveness as a "one-stop" resource. Students will no longer need to waste precious study time seeking out definitions in numerous specialized sources. Many definitions are accompanied by examples from the research literature, illustrating how the terms apply in particular contexts.
This dictionary is useful for any criminology or criminal justice course--with applications in sociology, public administration, political science, and the administration of justice.
Key terms cut across the following areas: criminal law, criminal justice, forensics, gangs, computers and computer crime, criminal investigations, criminology, criminological theory, corrections, probation and parole, courts and sentencing, rules of criminal procedure, constitutional law, policing and police-community relations, jails and prisons, white-collar crime, sodomy laws, civil rights, tort law, victimization, juvenile law, Section 1983 actions, capital punishment, electronic surveillance, fines and asset forfeiture, deadly force, search and seizure, wrongful convictions, the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.
The dictionary includes numerous illustrations, figures, and tables that provide readers with visual portrayals of important criminal justice facts. A comprehensive listing of over 30 doctoral programs in criminal justice is provided, together with useful contact information.
An extensive listing of Internet sites is provided for locating useful information regarding important topics associated with law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. Also featured are listings of all probation/parole and state corrections departments and relevant contact information.
Finally, this section provides listings of leading criminological theorists, a summary of their major theoretical contributions, and brief synopses of their written works. Many theorists are cross-referenced with other scholars studying similar phenomena.
The Supreme Court Cases Section
Nine hundred and eighty of the most recent and significant leading U.S. Supreme Court cases have been abridged in a short paragraph format to highlight the major facts, holdings, and rationales. The complete case citations are boldfaced in brackets for more complete information about the case principals (e.g., Penry v. Johnson, 532 U.S. 782, 121 S.Ct. 1910 (2001) [Johnny Paul PENRY, Petitioner, v. Gary L. JOHNSON, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division] (Habeas Corpus Petitions; Jury Instructions; Sentencing).
All leading cases have major terms boldfaced to indicate case content. A sample of current cases includes:
Bunkley v. Florida (2003) retroactive rules
Chavez v. Martinez (2003) Section 1983 rules
Ewing v. California (2003) habitual offender statutes
Illinois v. Lidster (2004) sobriety checkpoints
Kaupp v. Texas (2003) confessions
Khanh Phuong Nguyen v. United States (2003) federal appellate judge qualifications
Lawrence v. Texas (2003) sodomy laws
Lockyer v. Andrade (2003) three-strike laws
Maryland v. Pringle (2003) vehicle searches
Massaro v. United States (2003) ineffective assistance of counsel
Miller v. Cockrell (2003) peremptory challenges
Mitchell v. Esparza (2004) death penalty and harmless error doctrine
Overton v. Bazzetta (2003) civil rights, Section 1983 claims
Price v. Vincent (2003) double jeopardy
Sell v. United States (2003) forced medication of mentally ill patients
Smith v. Doe (2003) ex post facto laws
Stogner v. California (2003) sex offender laws
United States v. Banks (2003) knock and announce and exigent circumstances
All major criminal justice topics have been incorporated into the compilation of cases, including such topics as:
Acceptance of Responsibility
Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances
Americans with Disabilities Act
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA)
Asset Forfeiture
Border Searches
Civil Rights, Section 1983
Claims
Confessions
Custodial Interrogations
Deadly Force
Death-Qualified Juries
Discovery
Detainer Warrants
DNA Profiling
Double Jeopardy
Electronic Surveillance, Wiretapping
Evidence Preservation
Exclusionary Rule
Excessive Force
Ex Post Facto Laws
Fines
Forced Medication of Mentally Ill Defendants
Frivolous Lawsuits
Good-Faith Exception
Gun Control Bill
Habeas Corpus Petitions
Habitual Offender Statutes
Hearsay
Immigration Checkpoints
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
In Forma Pauperis Motions
Innocent-Owner Defense
Judicial Misconduct
Jury Size, Trials, and Voting
Juvenile Law
Knock and Announce
Lineups
Mandatory Death Penalty
Media Rights
Mens Rea
Motion Deadlines
Native American Tribal Law
Obscenity Laws
Parolee Rights
Peremptory Challenges
Plea Bargaining
Police Misconduct
Preventive Detention
Prison Litigation Reform Act
Retroactive Rules
Sex Offender Laws
Sexual Predators
Sobriety Checkpoints
Sodomy Laws
Sterilization
Stop and Frisk
Supervised Release Regulations
Thermal Imaging Equipment
Trash Searches
Victim Impact Statements
Wrongful Convictions
Many of these cases are cross-cited to facilitate research. These cases are indexed according to over 140 topics and include page number references for easy usage.
Champion provides explanations of citation protocol for referencing legal citations, including citing the U.S. Reports, Supreme Court Reporter, and regional state supreme court compilations and reporters such as the Pacific Reporter and Southwestern Reporter. Crucial U.S. Constitutional Amendments are cited whenever applicable in the compilation. A unique feature is the explanation of how to cite and interpret case materials.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1237820 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 514 pages

From Booklist
Written by a criminal justice professor at Texas A&M University, this resource defines or identifies key terms and persons in criminology and the justice system and summarizes the most recent and pertinent U.S. Supreme Court cases. The goal is to bring together in an updated single work information that undergraduate students need in their research. The publisher notes that 5,000 terms, concepts, and names are included in this edition as well as 125 new Court cases.

The first part of the volume is the "Dictionary of Terms." Entries are short, and the writing is clear and succinct. Included are a number of separate entries on gangs and juveniles and many national justice organizations. Community policing is defined, and Zylon protective armor is identified along with the modern technology of Geographical profiling and the nonlethal TASER weapon. Individuals ranging from criminologists like Eleanor and Sheldon Glueck to criminals like Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski are included. It is not clear why some non-American terms, such as Cut-purse, are defined.

The second part of the work, "U.S. Supreme Court Cases," covers mainly the past few decades in an A-Z format by case name. The author's objectivity when writing on controversial cases is notable. Cross-references from entries in this section to entries in the dictionary enable users to move easily to short definitions of pertinent terms.

The helpful indexes and appendixes include an index of cases by topic, a list of doctoral programs in criminal justice, a topical listing of Internet sites, and addresses of probation and parole agencies.

This is a fine, current, reasonably priced resource, accomplishing what it sets out to do. Although it will be especially useful in academic libraries, public libraries needing a one-volume work on criminal justice will also find it valuable. Arthur Meyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Dean John Champion is a Professor of Criminal Justice at Texas A and M International University.

Customer Reviews

Criminal Justice Dictionary
I am enjoying the use of this Dictionary. Words that are not defined in the Criminal Justice book I am currently reading for my studies are easily found in this dictionary. Towards the back of the book there is a section devoted to U.S. Supreme Court Cases. These cases are in alphabetical order, and there is even a guide to assist those who are not familiar with the reading citations. This dictionary was a great buy for me. It is helping me in my Criminal Justice studies.

Impressed
My order was shipped priority at no additonal cost. Very nice touch! I received my order within two business days and the book was like new. I would definitely recommend to anyone else!

Excellent!
This neat little book is a great reference for any criminal justice major, or even casual individual. The definitions are insightful, brief, and concise.

The Supreme Court cases are the strong points of this book. Good background and gives you what you need to know, without excess information to confuse you.

Whether it's looking up something for class or just curiousity, this is a good book to pick up.