American Criminal Courts

U.S. criminal courts are constrained by several legal processes and organizational structures that determine how they operate and how laws are applied. Part I of American Criminal Courts: Legal Process and Social Context explores how democratic processes develop criminal law in the United States the documents that define law, the organizational structure of courts at the federal and state levels, the overlapping authority of the appeals process, and the affects of legal processes such as precedent, jurisdiction, and the underlying legal philosophies of various types of courts.

Additionally, criminal courts are staffed by people who represent different domain perspectives, occupational pressures, and organizational goals. Thus, Part II includes chapters on actors in the traditional courtroom workgroup (judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, etc.) as well as those outside the court who seek to influence it, including advocacy groups, media, and politicians.

It is the interplay between the court legal processes and the social actors in the courtroom that makes the application of criminal law so fascinating. By focusing on the tension between the law and the actors inside of it, American Criminal Courts: Legal Process and Social Context demonstrates how the courts are a product of "law in action," and presents content in a way that enables you to understand not only the "how" of the U.S. criminal court system, but also the "why."