The American Dictionary of Criminal Justice: Key Terms and Major Court Cases (3rd Edition) - Softcover

Dean J. Champion

9781931719339: The American Dictionary of Criminal Justice: Key Terms and Major Court Cases (3rd Edition)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1931719330 ISBN 13: 9781931719339

Publisher: Roxbury Pub Co, 2004

The Third Edition of The American Dictionary of Criminal Justice is a reference every student of the criminal justice system should own. Like any good dictionary, this resource will assist students in a variety of courses--as well as in writing papers and understanding terminology in journal articles. Over 5,000 terms, concepts, and names are included in the new edition, as well as over 125 new U.S. Supreme Court cases.

The Terms Section

The dictionary's interdisciplinary approach greatly enhances its effectiveness as a "one-stop" resource. Students will no longer need to waste precious study time seeking out definitions in numerous specialized sources. Many definitions are accompanied by examples from the research literature, illustrating how the terms apply in particular contexts.

This dictionary is useful for any criminology or criminal justice course--with applications in sociology, public administration, political science, and the administration of justice.

Key terms cut across the following areas: criminal law, criminal justice, forensics, gangs, computers and computer crime, criminal investigations, criminology, criminological theory, corrections, probation and parole, courts and sentencing, rules of criminal procedure, constitutional law, policing and police-community relations, jails and prisons, white-collar crime, sodomy laws, civil rights, tort law, victimization, juvenile law, Section 1983 actions, capital punishment, electronic surveillance, fines and asset forfeiture, deadly force, search and seizure, wrongful convictions, the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.

The dictionary includes numerous illustrations, figures, and tables that provide readers with visual portrayals of important criminal justice facts. A comprehensive listing of over 30 doctoral programs in criminal justice is provided, together with useful contact information.

An extensive listing of Internet sites is provided for locating useful information regarding important topics associated with law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. Also featured are listings of all probation/parole and state corrections departments and relevant contact information.

Finally, this section provides listings of leading criminological theorists, a summary of their major theoretical contributions, and brief synopses of their written works. Many theorists are cross-referenced with other scholars studying similar phenomena.

The Supreme Court Cases Section

Nine hundred and eighty of the most recent and significant leading U.S. Supreme Court cases have been abridged in a short paragraph format to highlight the major facts, holdings, and rationales. The complete case citations are boldfaced in brackets for more complete information about the case principals (e.g., Penry v. Johnson, 532 U.S. 782, 121 S.Ct. 1910 (2001) [Johnny Paul PENRY, Petitioner, v. Gary L. JOHNSON, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division] (Habeas Corpus Petitions; Jury Instructions; Sentencing).

All leading cases have major terms boldfaced to indicate case content. A sample of current cases includes:

Bunkley v. Florida (2003) retroactive rules
Chavez v. Martinez (2003) Section 1983 rules
Ewing v. California (2003) habitual offender statu

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About the Author:

Dean John Champion is professor of criminal justice at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, TX. Dr. Champion has taught at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, California State University-Long Beach, and Minot State University.
He has written more than 30 texts and edited works and maintains memberships in 11 professional organizations. He is a lifetime member of the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the American Sociological Association. He is former editor of the ACJS/Anderson series on Issues in Crime and Justice (1993-1996) and the Journal of Crime and Justice (1995-1998). He is a contributing author for the Encarta Encyclopedia 2000 for Microsoft. He was the visiting scholar for the National Center for Juvenile Justice in 1992 and is president of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association.

From Booklist:

Written by a criminal justice professor at Texas A&M University, this resource defines or identifies key terms and persons in criminology and the justice system and summarizes the most recent and pertinent U.S. Supreme Court cases. The goal is to bring together in an updated single work information that undergraduate students need in their research. The publisher notes that 5,000 terms, concepts, and names are included in this edition as well as 125 new Court cases.

The first part of the volume is the "Dictionary of Terms." Entries are short, and the writing is clear and succinct. Included are a number of separate entries on gangs and juveniles and many national justice organizations. Community policing is defined, and Zylon protective armor is identified along with the modern technology of Geographical profiling and the nonlethal TASER weapon. Individuals ranging from criminologists like Eleanor and Sheldon Glueck to criminals like Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski are included. It is not clear why some non-American terms, such as Cut-purse, are defined.

The second part of the work, "U.S. Supreme Court Cases," covers mainly the past few decades in an A-Z format by case name. The author's objectivity when writing on controversial cases is notable. Cross-references from entries in this section to entries in the dictionary enable users to move easily to short definitions of pertinent terms.

The helpful indexes and appendixes include an index of cases by topic, a list of doctoral programs in criminal justice, a topical listing of Internet sites, and addresses of probation and parole agencies.

This is a fine, current, reasonably priced resource, accomplishing what it sets out to do. Although it will be especially useful in academic libraries, public libraries needing a one-volume work on criminal justice will also find it valuable. Arthur Meyers
Copyright � American Library Association. All rights reserved

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