Understanding Criminal Law

For some reason it's very hard to find books on the law specifically directed toward non-lawyers. This is odd since the law is an important instutition which should be simple enough (and usually is) for anyone to understand it. Since there are so few popular books on the law, if you want to learn about the law these "Understanding" books are a good place to start. I don't have any formal education in the law, but I think that these books are sometimes used as study guides ( which is why student reviewers seem to refer to them as 'hornbooks' )for law school, but a formal student of the law would read the cases themselves. This volume on the criminal law covers the basic principles of criminal law. The way intent is treated in crimes, defenses (insanity, self defense), mistakes (of law and of fact), and reviews some basic crimes in general terms including their development from the Common Law such as murder, conspiracy, attempt, theft etc... Most specific crimes are not covered (e.g. class B Felony and such things are codified by particular states and therefore are not covered in a book on the concepts of criminal law). The book does not cover subjects like when the police can search your car, such things are referred to as Criminal Procedure. I found this book to be very interesting, and it would be accessible to anyone with an interest in the law.

This book explains all of the basic concepts of criminal law in a clear, intelligent manner. His explanations were so clear that I could easily incorporate them into my outline, even though the guide was not keyed into the assigned casebook. I used this book to study for my crim law exam. My professor wasn't very well organized, so I really did not feel very confident about the exam before using this book. This book helped me get one of the highest grades in the class.

As a first year law student, I found this book to be a valuable companion to class lectures and other homework assignments, providing clarification, elaboration and insight into this complex and rich subject. If you have not yet had the privilege of adding this to your library, I especially recommend it at this critical period for many -- a few weeks before final examinations!

This book does an excellent job of going through the rationales, policies, and histories of the different aspects of criminal law. It includes summeries of the Model Penal Code view on all topics and compares this with the common law and majority rules of law. Overall it is an excellent supplement to any casebook.

Among legal study guides, this book is superior. The author clearly lays out the principles and discusses all the important facets of each area very clearly. The book is textual (so if you are looking for a study guide and prefer outlines, look elsewhere). It is somewhat long, but a good read, and very well organized.