Criminal Law

Driving home key concepts and helping students maximize their study efforts, end-of-chapter summaries appear as bullet-point lists that are matched to chapter-opening Learning Objectives.

A longtime market leader, Gardner and Anderson's CRIMINAL LAW masterfully balances comprehensive coverage of substantive criminal law topics with a presentation and writing style that make the material engaging and accessible -- even for students with little or no legal background.

Brief case excerpts provide helpful exposure to the actual language of the courts within the context of key chapter concepts, while minimizing the risk of overwhelming students with excessive amounts of dense legal documentation.

Vibrant concept boxes, graphs, and photographs enhance visual appeal while complementing the narrative, encouraging student interest and supporting different learning styles. In addition, end-of-chapter review problems -- Case Analysis and Writing Assignments -- facilitate critical thinking, case analysis, and the development of writing skills.

Making extensive use of court opinions -- frequently U.S. Supreme Court opinions -- and case citations, the text clearly illustrates how courts interpret and apply criminal statutes within their jurisdiction. Citations of important decisions on key points of criminal law are included to guide students who may conduct additional research.

A favorite of instructors and students alike, numerous Case Close-Up excerpts use detailed factual statements and extended discussion of the court's reasoning to examine its analysis of a difficult or emerging criminal law issue -- giving students behind-the-scenes insight into the inner workings of the court system.

The chapter-opening vignettes are crafted in a manner to encourage students to think about concepts that will be covered in the chapter, and then revisit their thoughts after reading the chapter. One new vignette (Chapter 10, "Homicide") describes the story of William Melchert-Dinkel, who was convicted of assisting suicide after posing as a nurse and encouraging two visitors to an online suicide website (who later committed suicide) to hang themselves.

You Be the Judge boxes put students in the role of a trial or appellate judge, requiring them to make their own decisions about real-life cases that were tried before a real judge. For example, Chapter 10 asks students to consider a case in which a woman was convicted of murder after her five-year-old daughter accidentally shot herself when left alone.

Due to expansion of federal crimes and the recent limits placed on some federal crimes by the Supreme Court, for example the case limiting the scope of Hobbs Act extortion violations, we have added a new section on the Commerce Clause: Interstate Commerce, Foreign Commerce, and Commerce with the Indian tribes. The power of Congress to regulate these activities is a vital part of the federal jurisdictional power, and this new section helps explain that power more fully.

Because courts, the states and Congress are reevaluating how users and distributers of child pornography are treated, we have added a case that discusses the limits of the distribution crime. And so we can show how simple shoplifting scans work, we have added a new box on “The Home Depot Scam”.

The most recent cases from the U. S. Supreme Court that will have a pronounced effect on criminal law are discussed, for example, cases limiting the application of some federal statutes, cases explaining the causation requirement in prosecutions against illegal drug dealers The most recent cases from the U. S. Supreme Court that will have a pronounced effect on criminal law are discussed, for example, cases limiting the application of some federal statutes, cases explaining the causation requirement in prosecutions against illegal drug dealers when the user dies, and the Elonis decision on when violent language in social media posts constitutes criminal threats. The 13th Edition also discuss the important decision in Johnson v. United States by adding a section to Chapter 1 on vagueness and the "violent felony".

Developing areas, such as permissible gun control after the U. S. Supreme Court's decisions regarding a Second Amendment right to bear arms, are highlighted. Two recent USSC cases, either pending or awaiting decision, are the focus of two new You be the Judge scenarios that ask students to think critically about the elements of the crime of distribution of “analogue” drugs; and what kinds of domestic violence are covered by the federal statute making it a crime to own a gun if one has a prior conviction for domestic violence, and consider how they would decide the case if they were the judge.

The Supreme Court’s latest holdings in death penalty cases are presented, as well as updated statistics on the major criminal law reports and references to current national criminal law-related issues.

This edition frequently incorporates coverage of criminal prosecutions for the use of social media such as Facebook and Craigslist in crimes.

The new MindTap® for the text offers customizable content, course analytics, an e-reader, and an applied learning experience -- all within your current learning management system. MindTap® prepares students to make the kinds of reasoned, real-world decisions they will need to make as future professionals. With its rich array of assets -- all of which are tagged by learning objective and Bloom's Taxonomy level -- MindTap® is perfectly suited for today's Criminal Justice students, engaging them, guiding them toward mastery of basic concepts, and advancing their critical thinking abilities.

MindTap for Criminal Law, 13th Edition has met the Quality Matters Review Standards and is Quality Matters Certified. For more information, visit qualitymatters.org.