FAMU Law Library Required Courses Materials Guide: Criminal Law

This guide helps you gain an overview of and develop perspective on the area of criminal law. It is organized into eight sections for quick reference. Expert discussion explores punishment, specific crimes, and the ingredients of a crime such as mens rea and actus reus. Other topics covered include special defenses, the burden of proof, and inchoate and group criminality. It also reflects on the limitations of criminal law.

A favorite among successful students, and often recommended by professors, the unique Examples & Explanations series gives you extremely clear introductions to concepts followed by realistic examples that mirror those presented in the classroom throughout the semester. Use at the beginning and midway through the semester to deepen your understanding through clear explanations, corresponding hypothetical fact patterns, and analysis. Then use to study for finals by reviewing the hypotheticals as well as the structure and reasoning behind the accompanying analysis. Designed to complement your casebook, the trusted Examples & Explanations titles get right to the point in a conversational, often humorous style that helps you learn the material each step of the way and prepare for the exam at the end of the course.

This comprehensive and clearly written Understanding treatise is frequently cited by scholars and courts in their analysis of substantive criminal law. Understanding Criminal Law is designed to be taught in conjunction with any casebook. The topics covered are those most often raised in criminal law casebooks, and coverage of these subjects is meant to complement professors' classroom discussions. The text focuses on the basic elements of, and defenses to, specific crimes such as homicide, rape, and theft, group criminality, and inchoate liability. Understanding Criminal Law also covers theories of punishment, sources of the criminal law, and overarching principles such as legality and proportionality. The common law is emphasized with extensive comparisons to the Model Penal Code and thoughtful examination of the underpinnings of the utilitarian philosophies of substantive criminal law. The text of Understanding Criminal Law encourages students to consider the approach these philosophies would take to a particular matter under discussion, thus providing an excellent learning tool for gaining a firm understanding of how our criminal justice system works.

Law school classroom lectures can leave you with a lot of questions. Glannon Guides can help you better understand your classroom lecture with straightforward explanations of tough concepts with hypos that help you understand their application. The Glannon Guide is your proven partner throughout the semester when you need a supplement to (or substitute for) classroom lecture. Here's why you need to use Glannon Guides to help you better understand what is being taught in the classroom: It mirrors the classroom experience by teaching through explanation, interspersed with hypotheticals to illustrate application. Both correct and incorrect answers are explained; you learn why a solution does or does not work.  Glannon Guides provide straightforward explanations of complex legal concepts, often in a humorous style that makes material stick.

Major emphasis is placed on the basic premises of criminal law, including its sources and general limitations. This Hornbook provides detailed discussion on the topics of responsibility, justification and excuse, inchoate crimes, accomplice, and liability. Attention is also given to subjects such as causation, insanity, and conspiracy.

Rights of Prisoners provides practitioners, judges, and corrections officials with a balanced and comprehensive treatment of prisoners' rights issues. It covers the law affecting prisoners and their rights, and the latest developments resulting from the increase in prison litigation. This title discusses civil disabilities, AIDS, drugs, environmental and toxic tort law, and “Son of Sam” laws. Additionally, it provides in-depth analysis of related Supreme Court decisions, with special attention paid to the application of First, Fourth, and Eighth Amendment rights as applied to corrections facilities.

Other topics covered in Rights of Prisoners include:

Basic entitlements
Equal protection clause
Prison labor
Control in prison
Transfers
Detainers
Prisoners in the community
Access to courts
Access to the media
And more

Understanding Criminal Law is designed to be taught in conjunction with any casebook. The topics covered are those most often raised in criminal law casebooks, and coverage of these subjects is meant to complement professors' classroom discussions. The text focuses on the basic elements of, and defenses to, all crimes; provides in-depth coverage of such crimes as homicide, rape, and theft; and covers other important topics covered in the Criminal Law course, such as accomplice and inchoate liability.

Understand better what you're learning in Criminal Law class and prepare effectively for exams by applying concepts as you learn them. This study guide includes over 180 multiple-choice and short-answer questions arranged topically for ease of use during the semester, plus an additional set of 18 short-answer questions comprising a comprehensive "practice exam."

For each multiple-choice question, Attorney Levine and Professor Marcus provide an answer that indicates which of four options is the best answer and explains thoroughly why that option is better than the other three options. Each short-answer question is designed to be answered in fifteen minutes or less. For these questions, Professor Marcus and Attorney Levine offer a thoughtful, complete, yet brief, model answer.

Mastering Criminal Law explores the basic principles useful in the study of criminal law, offering real world examples to understand these concepts. It provides a clear and concise consideration of the fundamental structure of a crime including statutory interpretation and sentencing. It has chapters on the typical crimes covered in most criminal law casebooks, namely, homicide, rape, assault and battery, and theft. Additionally, it covers accomplice liability, solicitation, attempt and conspiracy. It also covers defenses, including the right to present a defense. It distinguishes different approaches such as the Common Law and Model Penal Code and provides examples of different state statutes.

Skills and Values: Criminal Law fuses fact-creation and interpretation with traditional substantive law application in the same manner that practicing lawyers do, and exposes students to many of the essential tasks inherent in the practice of criminal law via an integrated approach, blending both traditional instruction with "Best Practices" reform, so that students may enjoy an interactive, skills-based, 21st-century approach to the study of Criminal Law. Skills and Values: Criminal Law provides students an overview of key criminal substantive law and a series of exercises (comprised of tasks) that includes complex fact patterns, relevant state or federal law (case and codified), and skills guides. This material enables students to explore actual legal issues and develop problem-solving skills in ways that arise in a criminal law practice, from both a defense and prosecution point of view.

This study aid contains more than 200 multiple-choice questions, some of which focus on specific subject areas, and some of which are mixed together in practice exams covering multiple topics. Together, these questions survey most of the material covered in a typical criminal law course.Each question is accompanied by a detailed and thorough explanation of what is the correct answer and what is not. These answers can be used to foster a deeper understanding of criminal law and to show students exactly how to apply the rules they learned in class on an actual multiple-choice exam.

This study aid contains more than 100 essay questions, some of which focus on specific subject areas, and some of which examine a number of interwoven topics. Together, these questions survey all of the material covered in a typical criminal law course. Each question is accompanied by a comprehensive model answer that can be used to foster a deeper understanding of criminal law and to show students exactly how to apply the rules they learned in class on an actual exam.

This study aid features an innovative method of content organization. It uses a checklist format to lead students through questions they need to ask to fully evaluate the legal problem they are trying to solve. It also synthesizes the material in a way that most students are unable to do on their own, and assembles the different issues, presenting a clear guide to procedural analysis that students can draw upon when writing their exams. Other study aids provide sample problems, but none offer the systematic approach to problem solving found in this book.

This book leaves newcomers to criminal law with what they need most: key concepts they can remember! Too many criminal law guides bury the novice in detailed rules when nine times out of ten mastery of the fundamental concepts is the key to success on the exam or in practice. Remembering these concepts is made easier by a "forest before the trees" organization and the use of quirky, often funny examples that stick the concepts to the reader's memory. Bonus chapters offer valuable tips for students on how to succeed in the study of the law. You'll laugh and learn.

The topics discussed in this criminal law outline are elements of crimes (including actus reus, mens rea, and causation), vicarious liability, complicity in crime, criminal liability of corporations, and defenses (including insanity, diminished capacity, intoxication, ignorance, and self-defense). Also included are inchoate crimes, homicide, other crimes against the person, crimes against habitation (including burglary and arson), crimes against property, offenses against the government, and offenses against the administration of justice.

Major emphasis is placed on the basic premises of criminal law, including its sources and general limitations. This Hornbook provides detailed discussion on the topics of responsibility, justification and excuse, inchoate crimes, accomplice, and liability. Attention is also given to subjects such as causation, insanity, and conspiracy.

This audio CD overviews the sources and nature of criminal law. Examines the theories of punishment, actus reus, mens rea, mistake of fact, and actual and proximate causation. Also addresses various defenses and criminal acts. Sum & Substance Audio CD Series allows you to assimilate the essentials of the course at your convenience - listen while working, commuting, exercising or just relaxing. The information and ideas you struggled with previously are now brought to life simply and succinctly. The CD provides Quick Reference Indexing, allowing you to quickly locate every topic in the entire recording. Also provided are exam tips to maximize your performance and Lifetime guarantee. These CD’s are time saving, convenient and effective.