Current Legal Issues in Criminal Justice

Book excerpt: Timely and topical, Current Legal Issues in Criminal Justice is a collection of in-depth essays on "hot-button" issues. The contributors--renowned scholars who have taught criminal justice and written extensively on legal issues--approach their material from both legal and sociological perspectives in order to give students a more nuanced understanding of each topic. Short, framing introductions preface each article and put the material in context, and critical-thinking questions follow each chapter. Written in accessible and jargonfree--but not "dumbed-down"--language, this text investigates such relevant topics as gun control, racial profiling, private prisons, medical marijuana, surveillance technology, juvenile waiver laws, inmate litigation, drug testing, the death penalty, sex offender registration, and confessions and interrogations law.