The Crime Junkie's Guide to Criminal Law: From Law & Order to Laci Peterson

217 Pages·2007·1.72 MB·English

by  Jim Silver

The Crime Junkie’s Guide
to Criminal Law

The Crime Junkie’s Guide
to Criminal Law
From Law & Order
to Laci Peterson
Jim Silver
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Silver, Jim, 1963–
The crime junkie’s guide to criminal law : from Law and order to Laci Peterson /
Jim Silver.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 978–0–275–99414–3 (alk. paper)
1. Criminal law—United States—Popular works. 2. Criminal procedure—United
States—Popular works. I. Title.
KF9219.6.S55 2008
345.73—dc22 2007036173
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2008 by Jim Silver
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2007036173
ISBN: 978–0–275–99414–3
First published in 2008
Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.praeger.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Julie

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
1. Setting the Stage 1
2. Recipe for Crime 9
3. Homicide 18
4. Murder 21
5. Voluntary Manslaughter 30
6. Involuntary Manslaughter 35
7. Rape 40
8. Assault 46
9. Kidnapping 53
10. Acquisition Offenses 56
11. Burglary 64
12. Arson 68
13. Perjury 71
14. Solicitation 73
15. Conspiracy 76
viii Contents
16. Attempt 86
17. Accomplice Liability 92
18. Justifi cation 98
19. Necessity and Duress 108
20. Entrapment 112
21. Intoxication 115
22. Insanity 118
23. The Exclusionary Rule 124
24. The Fourth Amendment: Arrests 130
25. The Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure 136
26. Self-Incrimination 147
27. Pretrial Proceedings 157
28. Trial 163
29. Right to Counsel 170
30. Guilty Pleas 174
31. Sentencing 180
32. Double Jeopardy 185
Index 189
Preface
Let’s face it, as long as it’s not happening to you, crime is pretty entertain-
ing. Every offense, from shoplifting to murder, combines danger and ex-
citement with emotions like greed, anger, and the urge to make very close
friends in prison. The dastardly deeds are often outrageous and some-
times hair-raising, but we can’t seem to rip our eyes from the wreckage
criminals make of their own lives and the lives of their victims. The dark
side of human behavior both repulses and fascinates us.
Which is why stories about crime are all around us. From Dragnet to
Law & Order and CSI , some of the most popular shows in television his-
tory have been and are about crime. Of course, it is not just fi ctional crime
that interests us; we love to have actual cases brought into our living
rooms courtesy of Court TV and documentary shows like A&E’s City Con-
fi dential and C old Case Files . News shows and magazines fairly drip with
salacious details about the infamous evildoings of the moment.
However, unless you’re a lawyer, you could probably use a little help
making sense of the crime stories you see and read about every day. That’s
what this book is for—to give you a better understanding of criminal law.
Maybe you know the M iranda warnings by heart, but do you know the
difference between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter? Whether
the police always need a warrant to search a private residence? What a fair
trial really means? This book gives you the answers to those and many
other questions. And, since there’s no law against learning being fun,