The eighth edition offers an updated and streamlined examination of the American system of law, courts, and justice. Part I (Law) reviews the history of courts and justice, common law and civil law systems, as well as law schools and legal education. Part II (Courts) discusses lawyers and the practice of law; unravels the structure and administration of federal and state court systems; delineates the appellate process, the Supreme Court, and judicial review; and describes the roles of judges, prosecutors, and criminal defense attorneys. Part III (Justice) demystifies the criminal justice process, negotiated justice, civil justice, juvenile justice, and alternative forms of justice. Throughout the book, landmark cases, important historical events, illustrative examples, and boxed items highlight or expand chapter content. Each of the twelve chapters concludes with an extensive summary, a list of key terms, and review questions. There is also a glossary that provides a summary of important terms.
This thought-provoking examination of crime and criminological theory takes a direct approach to a question that often confuses and frustrates students why do people commit crimes? UNDERSTANDING CRIME begins with an overview of the key elements of the study of crime and criminology, including law, public policy, research literature, and the philosophical origins of crime theories. These theories, based in biology, psychology, and sociology, are then broken down to their basic elements and causal processes in order to be explored. The authors examine the practical implications and applications each theory has on the administration of justice. In conclusion, the text looks at the future of crime theory by speculating whether or not new research designs, theories, and paradigms are needed. With a new modular format, this text can be customized for any teaching or learning style. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.
This concise textbook introduces students to multidisciplinary theories about why people commit crime. Winfree and Abadinsky strive to make the study of crime and justice as clear, concise, current, and consumable as possible. Tracing the evolution of theories and their influence on research today, the authors provide a solid foundation for students to understand the role theory plays in criminal justice practices. The first nine chapters explore various types of theories, providing the historical context and the basic assumptions each theory makes about human behavior, the causal arguments, and what criminologists have learned from testing the theories. The theory as originally proposed may have gone through a metamorphosis. Change is an important—and exciting—aspect of crime theory. Ideas that attempt to describe, explain, predict, and possibly control a specific behavior sometimes remain as originally conceived and sometimes evolve to something quite different. The final chapter explores the ways the various theories influence criminal justice policy, focusing on law enforcement. To help readers assimilate and synthesize the essentials of criminological theory, each chapter contains learning objectives, boxed material to stimulate critical thinking, bulleted summary points, key terms, and critical review questions. There are marginal notes throughout the text to highlight concepts, as well as a comprehensive glossary for easy review of important terms.
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