Cassia Spohn

Pauline Brennan

Sentencing Policies and Practices in the 21st Century focuses on the evolution and consequences of sentencing policies and practices, with sentencing broadly defined to include plea bargaining, judicial and juror decision making, and alternatives to incarceration, including participation in problem-solving courts. This collection of essays and reports of original research explores how sentencing policies and practices, both in the United States and internationally, have evolved, explores important issues raised by guideline and non-guideline sentencing, and provides an overview of recent research on plea bargaining in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Other topics include the role of criminal history in sentencing, the past and future of capital punishment, strategies for reducing mass incarceration, problem-solving courts, and restorative justice practices. Each chapter summarizes what is known, identifies the gaps in the research, and discusses the theoretical, empirical, and policy implications of the research findings. The volume is grounded in current knowledge about the specific topics, but also presents new material that reflects the thinking of the leading minds in the field and that outlines a research agenda for the future. This is Volume 4 of the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Corrections and Sentencing handbook series. Previous volumes focused on risk assessment, disparities in punishment, and the consequences of punishment decisions. The handbooks provide a comprehensive overview of these topics for scholars, students, practitioners, and policymakers.

Handbook on Sentencing Policies and Practices in the 21st Century

David C. Brody

Craig Hemmens

Written by three nationally recognized experts in the field, Criminal Courts: A Contemporary Perspective explores all conventional topics (court structure, courtroom actors, and the trial and appeals process) as well as others seldom covered, such as specialty courts and the goals and functions of the law. Authors Craig Hemmens, David C. Brody, and Cassia Spohn take a comprehensive and accessible approach which allows instructors to cover all of the “standard” material and the option to add selections they consider interesting and relevant to their particular course. This text will provide students with an understanding of the foundational concepts and enable them to hold a detailed discussion about the criminal courts system and the participants involved. Packed with contemporary examples and new pedagogical tools, the Third Edition has been thoroughly revised with the most up-to date content and resources to give students a more comprehensive understanding of the criminal courts system. Additional instructor resources and study tools can be found online at www.sagepub.com/hemmens2e.

A Contemporary Perspective

Criminal Courts

Samuel Walker

Miriam DeLone

Comprehensive and balanced, THE COLOR OF JUSTICE: RACE, ETHNICITY, AND CRIME IN AMERICA is the definitive introduction to current research and theories of racial and ethnic discrimination within America's criminal justice system. The sixth edition covers the best and the most recent research on patterns of criminal behavior and victimization, immigration and crime, drug use, police practices, court processing and sentencing, unconscious bias, the death penalty, and correctional programs, giving students the facts and theoretical foundation they need to make their own informed decisions about discrimination within the system. Uniquely unbiased, THE COLOR OF JUSTICE makes every effort to incorporate discussion of all major race groups found in the United States. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America

Craig T. Hemmens

Comprehensive and engaging, Criminal Courts: A Contemporary Perspective, supports student understanding by exploring all aspects of courts and related areas which are crucial to the criminal justice system. Written by three nationally recognized experts in the field, this text examines court structure, courtroom actors, trial and appeal process, and in addition, judicial decision making, specialized courts, and comparative court systems.

Courts: A Text/Reader provides the best of both worlds— authored text sections with carefully selected accompanying readings that illustrate the questions and controversies legal scholars and court researchers are investigating in the 21st century. The articles, from leading journals in criminology and criminal justice, reflect both classic studies of the criminal court system and state-of-the-art research, and often have a policy perspective that makes them more applied, less theoretical, and more interesting to both undergraduate and graduate students.

A Text/Reader

Courts

This comprehensive textbook covers court structure, courtroom actors, and the trial and appeal process. In addition, it also covers related areas often not covered, or inadequately covered, in many courts textbooks. These include judicial decision-making, specialized courts, and comparative court systems.

Written by three nationally recognized experts in the field, Criminal Courts: A Contemporary Perspective explores all the fundamental topics (court structure, courtroom actors, and the trial and appeals process) as well as other ground-breaking topics, such as specialty courts and comparative court systems. This bestseller provides you with a foundation for understanding key concepts by reviewing the judicial function, the role and purpose of law, sources of law, the various types of law, and the American court system’s structure and operations. You will build on this foundation by learning about participants in the system and the pretrial, trial, and post-trial processes. Packed with contemporary examples and new pedagogical tools, the Fourth Edition has been thoroughly revised with the most up-to-date content and resources to give you a more comprehensive understanding of the criminal courts system.

The appropriate amount of punishment for a given crime is an issue that has been debated by scholars, philosophers and legal professionals since the beginning of civilizations. This book seeks to address this issue in all of its complexity by providing a comprehensive overview of the sentencing process in the United States. The book begins by discussing the overall concept of punishment and then proceeds to dissect individual aspects of punishment. Topics include: the sentencing process; responsibility of the judge; disparity and discrimination in sentencing; and sentencing reform. This book is an ideal text for introductory courses on the judicial system, criminal law, law and society. It can be an essential resource to help students understand patterns in the wide discretion and latitude given to judges when determining punishments within the framework of the United States judicial system.

The Search for Fairness and Justice in Punishment

How Do Judges Decide?

Written by three nationally recognized experts in the field, Criminal Courts: A Contemporary Perspective explores all the fundamental topics (court structure, courtroom actors, and the trial and appeals process) as well as other ground-breaking topics, such as specialty courts and comparative court systems. This bestseller provides students with a foundation for understanding key concepts by reviewing the judicial function, the role and purpose of law, sources of law, the various types of law, and the American court system’s structure and operations. Students build on this foundation by learning about participants in the system and the pretrial, trial, and post-trial processes. Packed with contemporary examples and new pedagogical tools, the Fourth Edition has been thoroughly revised with the most up-to-date content and resources to give students a more comprehensive understanding of the criminal courts system. Give your students the SAGE edge! SAGE edge offers a robust online environment featuring an impressive array of free tools and resources for review, study, and further exploration, keeping both instructors and students on the cutting edge of teaching and learning. Learn more at edge.sagepub.com/hemmens4e.

Cassia Spohn

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