Mastering criminal defenses: a comprehensive, case-based guide to how defenses work in practice
This volume collects adjudged cases on defences to crime, with notes, focusing on disabilities of parties, criminal irresponsibility, accidents, ignorance and mistake, duress, consent, and related defenses. It presents the principles applied in American, English, and Canadian reports and shows how courts handle complex defenses in real cases. The book is designed for defense lawyers seeking ready access to authorities and reasoning that supports strategy and argument.
Inside you’ll find clear discussions of how defenses are argued, tested, and applied in practice. It draws on courtroom outcomes to illustrate what works, when, and why, in the context of criminal law.
- Foundations of criminal responsibility and who can be held liable
- Duress, consent, ignorance, and mistakes of law or fact explained with cases
- Disabilities of parties, including corporations, coverture, and infancy
- Principles for evaluating omissions, attempts, and accompanying defenses
Ideal for readers of classic criminal law reference and practitioners needing authoritative authorities in defense strategy.