Vol. II, Part 1.

Twenty-five leading contemporary theorists of criminal law tackle a range of foundational issues about the proper aims and structure of the criminal law in a liberal democracy. The challenges facing criminal law are many. There are crises of over-criminalization and over-imprisonment; penal policy has become so politicized that it is difficult to find any clear consensus on what aims the criminal law can properly serve; governments seeking to protect their citizens in the face of a range of perceived threats have pushed the outer limits of criminal law and blurred its boundaries. To think clearly about the future of criminal law, and its role in a liberal society, foundational questions about its proper scope, structure, and operations must be re-examined. What kinds of conduct should be criminalized? What are the principles of criminal responsibility? How should offences and defences be defined? The criminal process and the criminal trial need to be studied closely, and the purposes and modes of punishment should be scrutinized. Such a re-examination must draw on the resources of various disciplines-notably law, political and moral philosophy, criminology and history; it must examine both the inner logic of criminal law and its place in a larger legal and political structure; it must attend to the growing field of international criminal law, it must consider how the criminal law can respond to the challenges of a changing world. Topics covered in this volume include the question of criminalization and the proper scope of the criminal law; the grounds of criminal responsibility; the ways in which offences and defences should be defined; the criminal process and its values; criminal punishment; the relationship between international criminal law and domestic criminal law. Together, the essays provide a picture of the exciting state of criminal law theory today, and the basis for further research and debate in the coming years.

This collection of essays honours the work of Sir Gerald Gordon CBE QC LLD (1929-). In modern times few, if any, individuals can have been as important to a single country's criminal law as Sir Gerald has been to the criminal law of Scotland. His monumental work The Criminal Law of Scotland (1967) is the foundation of modern Scottish criminal law and is recognised internationally as a major contribution to academic work on the subject. Elsewhere, he has made significant contributions as an academic, judge and as a member of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission. Reflecting the academic rigour and practical application of Sir Gerald's work, this volume includes essays on criminal law theory, substantive law and evidence and procedure by practitioners and academics within and outside of Scotland, including contributions from England, Ireland and the USA.

Buy a new version of this textbook and receive access to the Connected eBook with Study Center on CasebookConnect, including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities; practice questions from your favorite study aids; an outline tool and other helpful resources. Connected eBooks provide what you need most to be successful in your law school classes. Now in its 11th edition, Criminal Law and Its Processes: Cases and Materials covers all the doctrinal material and key criminal justice policy questions an instructor may want to explore for a either a one-semester or year-long course in criminal law. From a preeminent authorship team, Criminal Law and its Processes: Cases and Materials, Eleventh Edition, continues in the tradition of its best-selling predecessors by providing students not only with a cohesive policy framework through which they can understand and examine the use of criminal laws as a means for social control, but also analytic tools to understand and apply important criminal law doctrines. Criminal Law and its Processes: Cases and Materials focuses on having students develop a nuanced understanding of the underlying principles, rules, and policy rationales that inform all criminal laws. A cases-and-notes pedagogy along with scholarly excerpts, questions, and notes, provides students with a rich foundation for not only the academic examination of criminal laws but also the application of the law to real-world scenarios. New to the Eleventh Edition: Enhanced treatment of America’s long-overdue reckoning with over-criminalization, mass incarceration, and discriminatory law enforcement Discussion of abolitionist critiques of American penal law and consideration of restorative justice as a possible alternative to traditional punishment The chapter on rape makes more readily understandable the major split between states that still require proof of some kind of force and those that now make absence of consent sufficient. The material also contains more depth for discussion of the increasingly important question of what “consent” means, including several of the most recent cases and the new Model Penal Code provisions on rape approved by the ALI membership in June 2021. In-depth treatment of racial profiling and police use of excessive force, and a broader discussion of structural pressures and biases in the context of exploring the expansion of excuses Broader exploration of what society chooses to criminalize and prioritize for enforcement Updated notes to incorporate contemporary cases and recent news touching on criminal law Inclusion of additional preeminent cases in the field of criminal law, including: Kahler v. Kansas as a principal case in the material on the insanity defense Two new cases on the actus reus of conspiracy – the first in a drug distribution context and the second addressing Apple’s strategy for marketing ebooks on its iPad Professors and students will benefit from: Cohesive Intellectual Framework Grounds student understanding of criminal law as an instrument of social control?and provides analytical tools to interpret and understand doctrine Holistic approach encourages students to develop an understanding of principles and rules applicable to all crimes Cases-and-notes pedagogy Includes excerpted materials, questions, and problems useful for Socratic instruction and policy discussions Challenging Problems ? Places discussion of the law and policy in relevant, real-world scenarios Enhance students’ understanding of basic principles and test their application of these principles to particular offenses