The Criminal Law Handbook : Know Your Rights, Survive the System (Criminal Law Handbook)

Do you know what happens when you are accused of a crime? How you are charged? How plea bargains work? What happens in court?

Anyone who needs answers to these questions -- people accused of a crime, victims of crime, their families and friends, witnesses and those who want to know how the system works -- can turn to a plain-English legal book for the information they need.

With The Criminal Law Handbook, you can learn exactly what goes on in a criminal case. The easy-to-follow, question-and-answer format covers:

*arrests
*booking
*preliminary hearings
*charges
*bail
*courts
*arraignment
*search and seizure
*defenses
*evidence
*trials
*plea bargains
*sentencing
*juveniles
*"crimespeak," the language commonly used in criminal statutes *and much more

The 5th edition provides the latest in the law and court findings. Find out if police can use high-tech devices to search for evidence in your house, whether school officials can search students without warrants, and how the post-9/11 Patriot Act expands the power of federal agents.

Paul Bergman is a Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law and a recipient of a University Distinguished Teaching Award. His recent books include Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies (Andrews & McMeel); Trial Advocacy: Inferences, Arguments, Techniques (with Moore and Binder, West Publishing Co.); and Represent Yourself In Court and The Criminal Law Handbook (both with Berman-Barrett, Nolo). He has also published numerous articles in law journals.

Sara J. Berman-Barrett is an attorney and bar review professor. She is the co-author of Represent Yourself in Court and The Criminal Law Handbook and the author of numerous articles and law course materials.