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JD Book Guide

This guide contains required and recommended materials and resources for each course in the JD program of the JFK School of Law

Required Textbooks

Required Course Materials

Russell L. Weaver et al., Criminal Law: A Contemporary Approach (4th ed. 2021).

- Note that first-time users must go directly to http://eproducts.westacademic.com/ - locate the title under "Materials Provided by my School" - Accept the terms of service and add it to your Bookshelf in West Academic. 

Barbri materials* (FAQ - Barbri)

*Barbri is a well-regarded bar exam preparation course, so please hold off on the purchase of other commercial outlines until you have a chance to assess the benefit of using the Barbri materials. And consider that the Barbri materials are meant as “review” materials. This means that they are most helpful after some basic doctrine has been absorbed.

WestAcademic Lectures*

*There are quality lectures and other study materials included with your WestAcademic access made available through this course. In some weeks, you will be instructed to listen to these, but you would be benefitted by exploring even more than the required material.

Additional Course Materials

Allen, M. (2016, October). Exam skills for success in criminal law. doi:10.1093/he/9780198745204.003.0001

Assault and battery penal code. Retrieved from https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=240

Burgman, D. (1979). Unilateral conspiracy: Three critical perspectives. DePaul Law Review, 29(1): 75-113. Retrieved from https://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2396&context=law-review

Field, T. G. (2013). Crimes involving intangible property. The University of New Hampshire Law Review, 11(2): 171-188. Retrieved from https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1179&context=unh_lr

FindLaw. (2010, March 26). Defending yourself against a criminal charge. Retrieved from https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/defending-yourself-against-a-criminal-charge.html

Fisher, K. (2018). No time like the present, except the past fifty years: Why California should finally adopt the model penal code sentencing provisions. The University of the Pacific Law Review, 49(3): 661-697. Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1182&context=uoplawreview

Gramlich, J. (2019, June 11). Only 2% of federal criminal defendants go to trial, and most who do are found guilty. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/11/only-2-of-federal-criminal-defendants-go-to-trial-and-most-who-do-are-found-guilty/

Justia. (n.d.). Racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) law. Retrieved from https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/rico/

Kadish, S. H. (1997). Reckless complicity. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 87(2): 369-394. Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6909&context=jclc

Macias, M. (2019, November 19). Appeals court upholds California’s revamped felony-murder accomplice law. Retrieved from https://www.courthousenews.com/appeals-court-upholds-californias-revamped-felony-murder-accomplice-law/

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. (2018, July 10). The trial penalty: The sixth amendment right to trial on the verge of extinction and how to save it. Retrieved from https://www.nacdl.org/Document/TrialPenaltySixthAmendmentRighttoTrialNearExtinct

Robinson, P. H., Kussmaul, M. G., Stoddard, C. M., Rudyak, I., & Kuersten, A. (2015). Journal of Legal Analysis, 7(1): 137–150. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/jla/article/7/1/37/891170

Shouse Law Group. (2020, May 13). Penal Code 664 PC – Attempted crimes in California. Retrieved from https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/defense/penal-code/664/

Smith, S. F. (2009). Proportional mens rea. American Criminal Law Review, 46(27): 127-155. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=law_faculty_scholarship

Ward, C. V. (2020). Three questions about stand your ground laws. Notre Dame Law Review, 95(3): 119-138. Retrieved from http://ndlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ward_Final.pdf

Recommended Course Materials

Congressional Research Review. (2020, April 3). Federal conspiracy law: A brief overview. Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41223.pdf

Ehrenreich, N. (2016). Attempt, merger and transferred intent. Brooklyn Law Review, 82(1): 49-104. Retrieved from https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1520&context=blr

Federal Bureau of Prisons. (n.d.). An overview of the first step act. Retrieved from https://www.bop.gov/inmates/fsa/overview.jsp 

Foretia, C. (2020, January 20). You can be convicted of murder even if you haven’t killed anyone? Retrieved from https://www.culawreview.org/journal/you-can-be-convicted-of-murder-even-if-you-havent-killed-anyone

Gardner, J. (1998). The gist of excuses. Buffalo Criminal Law Review, 1(2): 575–598. Retrieved from https://online.ucpress.edu/nclr/article/1/2/575/68685/The-Gist-of-Excuses

Gertner, N. (2010). A short history of American sentencing: Too little law, too much law, or just right. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 100(3): 691-707. Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7361&;amp;context=jclc 

Green, S. P. (2011). Thieving and receiving: Over criminalizing the possession of stolen property. New Criminal Law Review, 14(1): 35-54 Retrieved from https://law.rutgers.edu/sites/law/files/Thieving%20and%20Receiving.pdf

Ingle, M. P. (2019). Law on the rocks: The intoxication defenses are being eighty-sixed. Vanderbilt Law Review, 55(2): 607-646. Retrieved from  https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1788&context=vlr

Jaconelli, J. (2018). Incitement: A study in language crime. Criminal Law and Philosophy 12: 245–265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11572-017-9427-8 

Jaroszewski, D. [David Jaroszewski]. (2015, June 4). Actus reus [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CllG65ILS9c

Kaplan, M. (2017). Rape beyond crime. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=3886&context=dlj

Keiter, M. (1997). Just say no excuse: The rise and fall of the intoxication defense. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 87(2), 482-520. Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6911&context=jclc

Kleinfeld, J. (2016). Two cultures of punishment. Stanford Law Review, 68. Retrieved from http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/06/68_Kleinfeld_-_Stan._L._Rev._933.pdf

LearnLoads. (2014, June 19). Actus reus omissions [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOM7vNPYW-s&feature=youtu.be

National Conference of State Legislatures. (2020, March 24). States and capital punishment. Retrieved from https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/death-penalty.aspx

National Institute of Justice. (1995). The criminalization of domestic violence: Promises and limits. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/crimdom.pdf

Roberts, K. (2016). The psychology of victim-blaming. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/10/the-psychology-of-victim-blaming/502661/

Sala, T. (2019). What do you get when you abuse your spouse? Spousal support. University of the Pacific Law Review, 50(4): 735-761. Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1226&context=uoplawreview

Schulhofer, S. J. (2017). Reforming the law of rape. Law & Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice, 35(2): 335-352. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1577&context=lawineq

Shapiro Appleton & Washburn. (2014, January 3). What is preponderance of evidence? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKwHfbS-EO8

Sullivan, M. [Michael Sullivan]. (2011, December 2). What does beyond a reasonable doubt mean? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqGrktM6xno

Law 120 Syllabus