The Criminal Law Handbook: Know Your Rights, Survive the System [Paperback]

Paul Bergman (Author), Sara J. Berman-Barrett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2003 | Series: Criminal Law Handbook

Do you know what happens when you are accused of a crime? How you are charged? How plea bargains work? What happens in court?

Anyone who needs answers to these questions -- people accused of a crime, victims of crime, their families and friends, witnesses and those who want to know how the system works -- can turn to a plain-English legal book for the information they need.

With The Criminal Law Handbook, you can learn exactly what goes on in a criminal case. The easy-to-follow, question-and-answer format covers:

*arrests
*booking
*preliminary hearings
*charges
*bail
*courts
*arraignment
*search and seizure
*defenses
*evidence
*trials
*plea bargains
*sentencing
*juveniles
*"crimespeak," the language commonly used in criminal statutes *and much more

The 5th edition provides the latest in the law and court findings. Find out if police can use high-tech devices to search for evidence in your house, whether school officials can search students without warrants, and how the post-9/11 Patriot Act expands the power of federal agents.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

No one's above the law, but nearly everyone breaks it at some point or another. Whether it's flashing lights pulling you over to the side or an auditor looking grimly through your tax receipts, there may come a time when you'll want to know more, in a personal sort of way, about arraignments and voir dire, habeas corpus, and just how bail works. Lawyers Bergman and Berman-Barrett cover it all in a straightforward, uncomplicated manner. Addressing police questioning and the law of search and seizure, criminal defense options and common defense strategies, acceptable courtroom behavior, basic criminal trial rules, and a walk through the trial process to parole, this is a strikingly accessible tome of information one hopes to never need. But in the event that you do, it's here and available in the kind of language you can understand and the wealth of detail and example you can use. --Stephanie Gold --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

An excellent and balanced guide to the state court criminal justice process, this book does not detail the differences of being charged in federal court, such as federal sentencing guidelines. Authors Bergman (Reel Justice, LJ 6/1/96) and Berman-Barrett, also a criminal attorney, use a question-and-answer format to cover cases from police investigations through appeals. The book is not intended to replace legal advice, and the authors stress the importance of obtaining representation, unlike Michael Saeger in Defend Yourself Against Criminal Charges (LJ 10/1/97), a recent, inferior guide. A worthy addition to all libraries that will instruct those interested in the criminal justice system.?Harry Charles, St. Louis
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Nolo; 5th edition (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873379284
• ISBN-13: 978-0873379281
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,343,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well structured and indexed and funny, May 14, 2004

By 

Paul A. Chernoch (Stoneham, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Criminal Law Handbook: Know Your Rights, Survive the System (Paperback)

The law can be a dry and dull read, but these authors have introduced just enough humour to make the effort worthwhile. The names of almost every party in the numerous cases sprinkled throughout the book are puns or double entendres, and some of them are a little tricky to figure out, making for a nice diversion when the subject might otherwise have been tedious.

The whole arrangement of the book is meant to reflect the entire legal process and is extremely logical and accessible. It is excellently cross-referenced and makes frequent reference to the relevant sections of state and federal laws. The writing style is conversational and quite readable.

The authors take great pains to comment on those aspects of law that vary from state to state, which I found helpful considering how I was raised in one state and now live in another and took certain things for granted.

All the legal terms that are introduced are carefully explained, and facsimiles of the various legal documents, such as search and arrest warrants, are included at the end of each chapter.

One unusual feature that shows the depth of the authors' treatment is how they comment on the emotional state that defendants, victims and court personnel are typically in at various stages of the proceedings. They use this to explain how that may influence people's behavior and argue for or against certain courses of action, such as talking to police alone or waiting for a lawyer to arrive, etc.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding resource, February 26, 2004

By 

Kenneth Robinson (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Criminal Law Handbook: Know Your Rights, Survive the System (Paperback)

This book provides an excellent overview of criminal law for the layperson. The authors provide a sound overview of complex topics without getting bogged down in the endless minutia inherent to criminal law.

It is also refreshing that the authors do not waste the reader's time by interjecting ideological and social policy opinions into the book.

Whether your interest in criminal law arises from intellectual curiousity or from finding yourself "in the system", I don't believe you will find a better introductory book than this.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting it right, September 6, 2001

By 

Daniel (Geneva, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Criminal Law Handbook : Know Your Rights, Survive the System (3rd edition) (Paperback)

An excellent source book for "getting it right" for lay persons who want to "cut to the quick" in the search for answers to legal problems concerning the criminal law system. No mumbo jumbo legalese here, just straight talk in plain English. Kudos to you and your effort.