The Defendant's Rights Today

Book excerpt: With this comprehensive study, written in lay language, David Fellman provides an up-to-date analysis of the rights of the accused, certain to be welcomed by political scientists, students of public law, and all with an interest in due process of law. Since Fellman's 1958 book, The Defendant's Rights, substantial changes in the criminal justice system have occured. The past few decades before the publication of The Defendant's Rights Today have been witness to a striking expansion of the central concept of due process of law as it relates to criminal justice. The subject of defendants' rights is broad and complex. Fellman here explores its underlying concepts, bringing together a comprehensive discussion of the effects of the criminal justice system on the accused from arrest, through trial, to post-conviction remedies.