Modern Criminal Law: Cases, Comments And Questions (American Casebooks) [Hardcover]

Wayne R. Lafave (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0314159029 | ISBN-13: 978-0314159021 | Edition: Fourth Edition

This law school casebook is intended for use in a basic course on the substantive criminal law. The major emphasis in this casebook is upon what is usually referred to as the "general part" of the criminal law, mental state and act, responsibility, justification and excuse, inchoate crimes and liability for the conduct of another. There is also special emphasis upon the actual and potential contributions of the legislative branch in resolving the difficult policy questions that exist in this field.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

B.S., L.L.B. & S.J.D. (1965) University of Wisconsin, Phi Beta Kappa and Order of the Coif. David C. Baum Professor of Law and Professor in the Center for Advanced Study, on faculty of University of Illinois since 1961. Member of Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the U.S. Has served as Chairman of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Criminal Justice Programs, and as Reporter for the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, for the Uniform Rules of Criminal Procedure project of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, and for the Standards from Criminal Justice Project of the ABA. He has written extensively on criminal law and criminal procedure especially on the subjects of arrest, search & seizure. Author of "Search & Seizure" a three volume West Publication and Treatise on the Fourth Amendment. Authored and co-authored West publications consisting of two case-books and a hornbook on substantive criminal law and two casebooks, a hornbook and a practitioner's treatise on criminal procedure. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 894 pages
• Publisher: West Group; Fourth Edition edition (March 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0314159029
• ISBN-13: 978-0314159021
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #579,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It won't help you understand Law & Order on a much deeper level, but it does get you started on some criminal law issues, March 26, 2007

By 

V. Calhoon (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Modern Criminal Law: Cases, Comments And Questions (American Casebooks) (Hardcover)

I was not expecting to focus so much on mental states in criminal law, and thought we would start with elements of crimes (similar to learning about intentional torts). However, as the description indicates, this book focuses a lot on mental states, etc. As a first-year law student, I find this to be one of my least favorite textbooks. Perhaps criminal law cases are difficult by their nature since there are often constitutional issues, but the notes after the cases do little to clear some of the fog. One other annoying aspect of this book is the tiny margins (3/4 of an inch!), which make it hard to write notes in the cases as you're reading them. I think the concepts are becoming clearer, but this book could have done a better job shepherding students through introductory criminal law.

5.0 out of 5 stars LaFave - they change every year, April 12, 2010

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C. Ockey (new york city) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Modern Criminal Law: Cases, Comments And Questions (American Casebooks) (Hardcover)

Law School sucks, I'll be honest. This book is pretty straight forward though - new editions every year, but if you have a 3rd - this is 4th - pretty much the same but for 1 or 2 cases. Most important was it came fast!