Synopses & Reviews
Timely and topical,
Current Legal Issues in Criminal Justice is a collection of in-depth essays on "hot-button" issues. The contributors--renowned scholars who have taught criminal justice and written extensively on legal issues--approach their material from both legal and sociological perspectives in order to give students a more nuanced understanding
of each topic. Short, framing introductions preface each article and put the material in context, and critical-thinking questions follow each chapter. Written in accessible and jargonfree--but not "dumbed-down"--language, this text investigates such relevant topics as gun control, racial profiling, private prisons, medical marijuana, surveillance technology, juvenile waiver laws, inmate litigation, drug testing, the death penalty, sex offender registration, and confessions and interrogations law.
Review
"Current Legal Issues in Criminal Justice is a comprehensive text that considers broad, pressing, and timely issues in the criminal justice field."--Elyshia Aseltine, Towson University
"The approach of this book is excellent. It would work very well in an advanced topics class on criminal justice issues."--Theodore P. Byrne, California State University, Dominguez Hills
About the Author
Craig Hemmens is Chair and Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University.
Table of Contents
About the EditorAbout the Contributors
Preface: Craig Hemmens
Section I: Legal Issues and Police
1. Surveillance Technology and the Reasonable Expectation of Privacy: Claire Nolasco and Aneta Spaic
2. Interrogations, Law, and False Confessions: Marvin Zalman
3. The Restriction and Likely Elimination of the Exclusionary Rule: Jeffery T. Walker
4. Racial Profiling and the Law: Brian Withrow and Jeffery D. Dailey
Section II: Legal Issues and Courts
5. DNA Evidence and Wrongful Convictions: Causes, Consequences, and Remedies: Mai E. Naito and Michael Vaughn
6. The Implications of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims: Fran Bernat and Simon Zschirnt and Nicholas Godlove
7. Sentencing Reforms and the Supreme Court: Rodney L. Engen and Ronald F. Wright
Section III: Legal Issues and Corrections
8. Inmate Litigation and the Constitution: Barbara Belbot and Michael Cavanaugh
9. Sex Offender Registration, Notification, and Civil Commitment Statutes: Due Process vs. Community Safety: Barbara Sims and Megan Reynolds and Leah Taylor
10. Private Prisons and the Law: Jared Eilison and Emily Wright
11. Collateral Consequences: The "Gift" That Kepps On Giving: Valerie Bell and Leonard Decker
Section IV: Legal Issues and Juvenile Justice
12. Juvenile Waiver Laws: Benjamin Steiner
13. A Contemporary Analysis of Drug Tests, the Fourth Amendment, and the Court's Rationale for Warrantless and Suspicionless Searches: Claudia San Miguel
14. Juvenile Life Without Parole and the Juvenile Death Penalty: Taylor Brickley and Katherine Bennett
Section V: Miscellaneous Legal Issues
15. Section 1983 Litigation in Criminal Justice: Darrell Ross
16. Medical Marijuana and the States: Stacy Moak and Rocio Roles
17. Have "Three Strikes" Laws Struck Out?: Robert P. Stallings and Shannon Womer Phaneuf and Jon Cooper
18. Case Processing and Plea Bargaining: Brian Iannacchione
19. Gun Control: David Brody and Chyla Aguiar
20. The Patriot Act: Where Is It Today?: Sue Carter Collins
Glossary