American Criminal Law: Its People, Principles, and Evolution

This coursebook offers an exciting new approach to teaching criminal law to graduate and undergraduate students, and indeed to the general public.

Each well-organized and student-friendly chapter offers historical context, tells the story of a principal historic case, provides a modern case that contrasts with the historic, explains the legal issue at the heart of both cases, and includes a unique mapping feature describing the range of positions on the issue among the states today, examines a key policy question on the topic, and provides aftermath that reports the final chapter to the historic and modern case stories.

By embedding sophisticated legal doctrine and analysis in real-world storytelling, the book provides a uniquely effective approach to teaching American criminal law in programs on criminal justice, political science, public policy, history, philosophy, and a range of other fields.