Synopses & Reviews
Timely and topical, Current Legal Issues in Criminal Justice is a collection of in-depth essays on "hot-button" issues. The contributors--recognized 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 jargon-free--but not "dumbed-down"--language, this text investigates such heated topics as juvenile waiver laws, inmate litigation, assisted suicide, drug testing, the death penalty, pornography, hate speech, habeas corpus, civil liability, search-and-seizure law, and confessions and interrogations law.
Table of Contents
Section I. Legal Issues and Police Chapter 1. Police and Thieves: The Supreme Court Examines the Knock and Announce Rule, Craig Hemmens
Chapter 2. Surveillance Technology and the Law, Kathryn Scarborough, Pam Collins, and Ryan Baggett
Chapter 3. The USA PATRIOT Act: A Review of the Major Components, Jim Ruiz and Kathleen H. Winters
Chapter 4. The Meaning of Miranda Rights and the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, Marvin Zalman
Chapter 5. Probation/Parole Searches and the Fourth Amendment, John L. Worrall and David Murphy
Chapter 6. Drug Tests, the Fourth Amendment, and the Supreme Court's Rationale for Warrantless and Suspicionless Searches, Claudia San Miguel
Section II. Legal Issues and Courts
Chapter 7. Problem-Solving Courts: Changing the Way Courts Conduct Business, Michelle E. Heward
Chapter 8. Sentencing Reforms and the Supreme Court: The Implications of Apprendi, Blakely, and Booker, Jeremy D. Ball
Chapter 9. Mental Health and the Death Penalty, Peggy M. Tobolowsky
Chapter 10. Addressing the Rights of Victims in Capital Cases, Ashley G. Blackburn, James W. Marquart, Janet L. Mullings, and Chad R. Trulson
Chapter 11. Legal Issues Associated With DNA Evidence, Simon A. Cole and William C. Thompson
Chapter 12. Hate Crimes and Hate Speech: Freedom to Express or License to Harm?, Jacqueline Buffington-Vollum
Section III. Legal Issues and Corrections
Chapter 13. Inmate Litigation and the Constitution, Barbara Belbot
Chapter 14. A Failure to Integrate: Equal Protection and Race in American Prisons, Chad R. Trulson, James W. Marquart, and Janet L. Mullings
Chapter 15. Sex Offender Registration, Notification, and Civil Commitment Statutes: Due Process vs. Community Safety, Barbara Sims and Megan Reynolds
Section IV. Legal Issues and Juvenile Justice
Chapter 16. Juvenile Waiver Laws, Benjamin Steiner
Chapter 17. Juvenile Curfews, Janice Ahmad, Katherine Bennett, and Jim Ruiz
Section V. Miscellaneous Legal Issues
Chapter 18. The Criminal Justice System's Treatment of Assisted Suicide, David C. Brody
Chapter 19. Surfing for Porn: Obscenity and the Internet, Jeff Maahs and John Liederbach