America's Courts and the Criminal Justice System (Cengage Advantage Books)

Widely used and widely respected, AMERICA'S COURTS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, Tenth Edition, offers a comprehensive explanation of the courts and the criminal justice system, presented in a streamlined, straightforward manner that appeals to instructors and students alike. Neubauer and Fradella's crisp, clear writing style, characterized by careful chunking of material into small sections within chapters, ensures that readers gain a firm handle on the material, while the text's innovative "courtroom workhouse" model, which focuses on the interrelationships among the judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney, brings the courtroom to life. This popular text is known for the way it gives students a true glimpse what it is like to work within the American criminal justice system, and the tenth edition is no exception. This modern edition offers coverage that reflects recent policy shaping and headline-making developments as well as incorporation of additional student-learning and review tools.

Open this book and step into America's court system! With Neubauer and Fradella's best-selling text, you will see for yourself what it is like to be a judge, a prosecutor, a defense attorney, and more. This fascinating and well-researched text gives you a realistic sense of being in the courthouse--you will quickly gain an understanding of what it is like to work in and be a part of the American criminal justice system. This concept of the courthouse "players" makes it easy to understand each person's important role in bringing a case through the court process. Throughout the text, the authors highlight not only the pivotal role of the criminal courts but also the court's importance and impact on society as a whole.

David William Neubauer has taught at the University of Florida; at Washington University in St. Louis; and most recently at the University of New Orleans, where he regularly teaches Judicial Process, General American Politics, and Criminal Justice. In addition to this best-selling text, he is the author of DEBATING CRIME: RHETORIC AND REALITY, and BATTLE SUPREME: THE CONFIRMATION OF CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS AND THE FUTURE OF THE SUPREME COURT, all from Wadsworth. His articles have appeared in a wide array of scholarly journals, including LAW AND SOCIETY REVIEW, JUDICATURE, POLICY STUDIES JOURNAL, and LAW AND POLICY QUARTERLY. Dr. Neubauer's current research interests include nominations to the Supreme Court and religion in public life.Henry F. Fradella is Professor and Chair, Department of Criminal Justice, at Long Beach, and a well-respected author and academician. Fradella was born in New York, NY, and grew up in that city and its Monmouth Country, NJ, suburbs. After graduating with highest honors from the Searing School in Manhattan in 1986, Fradella earned a B.A. in psychology in 1990 from Clark University, graduating summa cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Fradella then earned a Masters in Forensic Science and a law degree in 1993 from The George Washington University and a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary justice studies from Arizona State University in 1997. Prior to becoming a full-time academic, Fradella worked as an autopsy technician in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Washington, D.C.; practiced law; and worked in the federal courts as a judicial law clerk. He began his career in academia as Assistant Professor at The College of New Jersey. After having earned tenure and promotion to the rank of Associate and then full Professor over ten years, Fradella resigned from TCNJ in 2007 to become a professor in, and chair of, the Department of Criminal Justice at California State University, Long Beach. Fradella is the author of over sixty articles, reviews, and scholarly commentaries; three sole-authored books; and three additional books written with co-authors. Four of these six books were published by Wadsworth. Dr. Fradella has guest edited two volumes of the JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY CRIMINAL JUSTICE, and served three terms as Legal Literature Editor for West's Criminal Law Bulletin.

1. Courts, Crime and Controversy. Part I: THE LEGAL SYSTEM. 2. Law and Crime. 3. Federal Courts. 4. State Courts. Part II: LEGAL ACTORS. 5. Dynamics of Courthouse Justice. 6. Prosecutors. 7. Defense Attorneys. 8. Judges 9. Defendants and Victims. Part III: PROCESSING THE ACCUSED. 10. Arrest to Arraignment. 11. Bail. 12. Disclosing and Suppressing Evidence. 13. Negotiated Justice and the Plea of Guilty. 14. Trials and Juries. Part IV: SENTENCING THE GUILTY. 15. Sentencing Options. 16. Sentencing. Part V: APPELLATE, LOWER AND JUVENILE COURTS. 17. Appellate Courts. 18. The Lower Courts. 19. Juvenile Courts. Epilogue. Appendix A: Criminal Court Landmarks. Appendix B: The Constitution of the United States. Appendix C: An Overview of The Constitution of the United States. Appendix D: Legal Reasoning.