Social Justice: Criminal Law & Procedure

A basic guide sets out the main components of the criminal justice system in an accessible way. Intended as a starting point for readers coming to the subject for the first time.

The aim of this book is to assist the new student of criminal justice in their understanding of the process and the conventions that underpin it. This guide presents a brief but clear narrative of the basics of the US Criminal Justice System. The following topics are covered: Basic principles of the Criminal Justice System (offenses, police powers, the court system and corrections.)

Legal Ease is a versatile book that addresses how laws evolve and change as if they were living, breathing entities that are a mirror reflecting societal change. This new third edition offers the reader an expansive and practical guide to the many aspects of law. Presented in three sections, the book explains the practice of law through all phases of the criminal justice system. Part One, Criminal Law Explained, offers a history of law, defines criminal conduct, and explains the tools attorneys use in their practice. Section Two, Criminal Procedure and Evidence, details the steps required to institute constitutional search, seizure, and arrest. It also provides a comprehensive description of the duties and responsibilities of prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, and court personnel. Section Three, A Walk Through the Criminal Justice System, takes the reader step-by-step through the process of a trial, from jury selection to verdict and sentencing, and finally to the appeal process. DefendantsOCO rights are discussed as they navigate through the criminal justice system. The ideas and principles behind the country's constitutional amendments are explained, with many case examples offered to illustrate. Additional topics new to this edition address privacy rights, picketing at funerals, free speech/cruelty to animals, youthful offenders and sentencing, strip search of students, sexting, deportation and minor drug cases, DNA testing, warrantless search, medicare scams, and workforce retaliation, among others. The inclusion of OC Key WordsOCO and OC Questions for Review and DiscussionOCO sections at the end of each chapter will prove invaluable to instructors and students. This comprehensive volume continues to give groups who are new to the scene, as well as those who arenOCOt, an easy-to-read book of reference for all those nuances the law continues to press onto the legal system."

This resource, whilst focusing on Supreme Court cases, also includes precedent-settingcases. This 4-volume set contains approximately 800 cases, organized by broad legal principles, then arranged alphabetically under the more specific legal issues.

This work is licensed under an Open Educational Resource-Quality Master Source (OER-QMS) License. See website for details.

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Runtime: 37 minutes
"To understand how criminal law works, you first have to understand what a crime is. What are the purposes of criminal law? Why is textualism so important to distinguishing the bygone era of common-law crimes from those of the 21st century? Who are the key players involved in defining a crime?"

Runtime: 33 minutes
"Powell v. Alabama, better known as the Scottsboro case, is one of the most important in the history of American criminal procedure law. Where did the Supreme Court find the legal authority to force states to provide all criminal defendants, regardless of race or economic station, with fundamental rights?"

"No understanding of the past is complete without an understanding of the legal battles that have shaped it. In The Great Trials of World History and the Lessons They Teach Us, Professor Douglas O. Linder takes you back in time to revisit history's most famous (and infamous) trials, including the Salem Witch Trials, the Scopes "Monkey" Trial, the Nuremburg Trials, and the Trial of O. J. Simpson."

Runtime: 32 minutes
"What makes civil procedure different from all other subjects law students encounter in their first year of school? Using a hypothetical lawsuit and two Supreme Court cases, explore the broad set of issues and questions any system of litigation must address, including the procedures needed to clear a person's name."