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Criminal Procedure: Principles, Policies, and Perspectives

8th Edition
Joshua Dressler | George C. Thomas III | Daniel S. Medwed
ISBN: 9781647087722
CasebookPlus ISBN: 9781685619497
Subject: Criminal Procedure
Format: Print - Hardbound
Page Count: 1651
Copyright: 2023 | Status: In Stock
Other Formats Available
CasebookPlus option available

This title is a part of our CasebookPlus™ offering as ISBN 9781685619497. Learn more at Faculty-CasebookPlus.com.

For more than two decades, Criminal Procedure: Principles, Policies, and Perspectives (and its softcover versions, Criminal Procedure: Investigating Crime and Criminal Procedure: Prosecuting Crime), written by Joshua Dressler, George C. Thomas III and, in the past two editions, Daniel S. Medwed, has sought to inspire students to analyze and critique constitutional and non-constitutional criminal procedure doctrine.

The book features careful case selection and editing that includes dissenting and concurring opinions when useful in understanding and critiquing the law. The Notes and Questions, as well as the Teacher’s Manual, are uniformly thoughtful and sometimes even intentionally (and, the authors hope, not unintentionally) humorous. The Manual provides advice on organization and time-allotment, suggestions on ways to raise difficult issues in class, and offers the authors’ suggested answers to questions raised in the Notes and Questions throughout the casebook.

The Eighth Edition includes most of the cases and material that users have told us were successful in the past. The book continues to include “in the trenches” material that gives students an idea of what life is like inside the squad car, the interrogation room, and the courtroom. Among the changes and additions to the new edition:

  • More materials throughout the casebook on racism in the criminal justice system, police use of excessive force, and gender discrimination.
  • A new chapter section dealing exclusively with civil remedies for Fourth Amendment violations.
  • New Notes on other Fourth Amendment decisions since the prior edition, as well as new Problems based on recent state and lower federal court opinions.
  • Some reorganization of the interrogation materials, including a return of the old chestnut case, Escobedo v. Illinois, as a more effective bridge to Miranda v. Arizona.
  • Updated Notes on empirical research on eyewitness identification procedures.
  • In the Case Screening chapter, new Notes address recent changes in charging practices, including discussion of the movement by some prosecutors to decline to charge certain categories of crimes.
  • In the Role of Defense Counsel chapter, Scott v. Illinois is removed as a principal case and moved into the Notes for greater clarity, and there is fascinating new information regarding David Washington (of Strickland v. Washington).
  • In the Trial chapter, the addition of Ramos v. Louisiana, which overrules prior case law and presents thoughtful discussion of the role of stare decisis.


Imprint: West Academic Publishing
Series: American Casebook Series
Publication Date: 02/22/2023

Joshua Dressler, Ohio State University College of Law

George C. Thomas III, Rutgers Law School-Newark

Daniel S. Medwed, Northeastern University 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
  • Access to a downloadable eBook with the ability to highlight and add notes
  • 12-month access to a digital Learning Library complete with:
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.

Among the changes and additions to the new edition:

  • More materials throughout the casebook on racism in the criminal justice system, police use of excessive force, and gender discrimination.
  • A new chapter section dealing exclusively with civil remedies for Fourth Amendment violations.
  • New Notes on other Fourth Amendment decisions since the prior edition, as well as new Problems based on recent state and lower federal court opinions.
  • Some reorganization of the interrogation materials, including a return of the old chestnut case, Escobedo v. Illinois, as a more effective bridge to Miranda v. Arizona.
  • Updated Notes on empirical research on eyewitness identification procedures.
  • In the Case Screening chapter, new Notes address recent changes in charging practices, including discussion of the movement by some prosecutors to decline to charge certain categories of crimes.
  • In the Role of Defense Counsel chapter, Scott v. Illinois is removed as a principal case and moved into the Notes for greater clarity, and there is fascinating new information regarding David Washington (of Strickland v. Washington).
  • In the Trial chapter, the addition of Ramos v. Louisiana, which overrules prior case law and presents thoughtful discussion of the role of stare decisis.

View a detailed summary of changes in the new edition here.

Learn more about this series.