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Written by three leaders in the field, this text explores all conventional topics (court structure, courtroom actors, and the trial and appeal process) as well as others seldom covered. The text first reviews the judicial function, the role and purpose of law, sources of law, the various types of law, and the American court system structure and operations, both state and federal. The participants in the system are discussed next, followed by the pre-trial, trial, and post-trial processes. A wealth of pedagogical tools adds valuable related content, ranging from the points of view of court process participants to comparative information to hotly debated topics.
List of contents
Section One: Court Purpose, Structure
Chapter 1: Law: Its Characteristics, Purpose, and Development
Chapter 2: Underlying Concepts
Chapter 3: Court Organization and Structure
Chapter 4: Types of Law
Section Two: Courtroom Actors and the Courtroom Workgroup
Chapter 5: The Prosecutor
Chapter 6: The Defense Attorney
Chapter 7: Judges
Chapter 8: The Jury
Chapter 9: Defendants, Witnesses, and Victims
Section Three: Court Processes
Chapter 10: Pretrial Procedures
Chapter 11: The Trial Process
Chapter 12: Sentencing
Chapter 13: The Appeals Process
Chapter 14: Specialized Courts
About the author
Craig Hemmens is Department Head and Professor in the Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Missouri State University. In addition to being the editor for the SAGE Text/Reader Series in Criminology/Criminal Justice, he has published several books, including Law, Justice and Society (Oxford University Press, @2009), Legal Guide for Police (Anderson, ©2011) and An Introduction to Criminal Evidence (Oxford University Press, ©2009). He has been nominated for several teaching awards, and is currently serving as the first Vice President of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He holds a J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University. In 2012 will be the President of the Association of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS).
