Criminal Law

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In his student treatise, noted authority Paul Robinson uses the Model Penal Code, realistic hypotheticals, and lucid explanations to describe the existing rules of American criminal law. (In fact, professors consistantly remark on how well written and clear Robinson's text is.) He explains the reasoning behind those rules, the interrelation among them, and their application.

Robinson gives the MPC's position on each topic, along with the most common deviations from it. Rather than viewing each rule in isolation, he examines each part of criminal law as a piece of a machine for determining criminal liability. The six parts of the book define those interrelationships:

Introduction

General Principles in the Definition of Offenses

Principles of Imputation

General Defenses

Inchoate Liability

Specific Offenses.

Since lawyers who know the reasoning of the drafters have a powerful advantage in arguing for a particular interpretation of a code provision, Robinson points students to important bibliographic sources at the end of each section.

Each chapter starts with a hypothetical based on a real case. Throughout the chapter, Robinson refers back to the hypothetical, using it as a vehicle to analyze and clarify abstract concepts.