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. This second edition adds concise doctrinal outlines for each chapter. You’ll laugh and learn.


Imprint: West Academic Publishing
Series: Short & Happy Guides
Publication Date: 08/03/2020

Joseph E. Kennedy, University of North Carolina School of Law

CasebookPlus™

This title is available in our CasebookPlus format. CasebookPlus provides support beyond your classroom lectures and materials by offering additional digital resources to you and your students. Anchored by faculty-authored formative self-assessments keyed to our most popular casebooks, CasebookPlus allows students to test their understanding of core concepts as they are learning them in class – on their own, outside of the classroom, with no extra work on your part. CasebookPlus combines three important elements:

  • A new print or digital casebook
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Multiple-choice self-assessment questions, including:
  • Chapter questions keyed to the casebook
  • Black Letter Law questions (available in select subjects)
  • Subject area review questions for end of semester use
Essay and short answer questions with sample answers and expert commentary, in 1L and select upper-level subjects

Leading digital study aids, an outline starter, and audio lectures in select subjects

Students can still utilize CasebookPlus digital resources if they’ve purchased a used book or are renting their text by purchasing the Learning Library at westacademic.com.

With CasebookPlus, you can customize your students’ learning experience and monitor their performance. The quiz editor allows you to create your own custom quiz set, suppress specific quiz questions or quiz sets, and time-release quiz questions. Additionally, the flexible, customized reporting capability helps you evaluate your students’ understanding of the material and can also help your school demonstrate compliance with the new ABA Assessment and Learning Outcomes standards.

Learn more about this series.