Introduction to Criminal Law
The information covered in this text is general in nature, yet thorough enough to understand the foundations of the topic. Given that I would be using this text for undergraduate students, the amount of information and its depth seem to be on point. There are links that provide opportunities to explore the topic further if the student/instructor so desires.
I am not a legal expert and cannot comment specifically to the accuracy; however, I do appreciate the long list of individuals provided that were identified as having reviewed the material prior to publication specifically for that purpose.
Criminal law itself will be unchanging, but its interpretation will. The author has included contemporary cases and other examples that provide the student with an understanding of the applications. It is made clear that there will be variations in different jurisdictions and that many of the examples are illustrative in nature.
Criminal Law is an easy read and any terms that would be unfamiliar to the undergraduate student is well defined and used in examples. The exercises throughout the text also offer methods of becoming familiar with the language.
Criminal law is written in a way that is easy to follow and each chapter is laid out in the same fashion which makes the material very easy to navigate.
The chapters are broken up into easy to read subunits and there are several references to other areas of the book if there is a reference that needs to be made. This format makes it easy for the student and instructor to connect material moving forward allowing this book to be more comprehensive.
The topics were laid out in a way that was easy to follow and permits the student to build on previous information as they read forward. The beginning lays out general information about criminal law and the legal system and then breaks down into more specific elements related to criminal law.
All links throughout the book were active and images look clear. The text is laid out in an easy to read format for the computer screen. The text and supplemental materials are extremely user friendly.
There were no grammatical errors noted throughout the text. The book is easy to follow and well written.
There was nothing that stood out as anything that may be offensive within the material or the examples. If there were references to cultural differences within examples, it is strictly due to relevance to the issue being discussed.
I am excited that there is a simple, easy to read foundational text in criminal law that can be shared with my forensic students. These students may or may not choose law school, but there should be a holistic understanding of how their work fits into the legal system as they go on to play a critical role in the investigation and prosecution of criminal activity.