This text, the only criminal law casebook authored by two progressive female law professors of color, provides the reader with both critical race and critical feminist theory perspectives on criminal law while following a traditional format. All of the usual subject areas are covered, but the book is unique in highlighting the cultural context of substantive criminal law.
The book seamlessly integrates issues of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation so the teacher who wishes to address such issues does not have to assign supplemental reading assignments in order to do so. The book is also very student-friendly, providing a brief doctrinal overview of the subject matter at the beginning of each chapter. The book does away with the tradition of long lists of notes and questions following the cases, a trademark feature of many older casebooks, putting this material in the Teachers Manual for the teacher to use at his or her discretion.
The forthcoming third edition is fresh and innovative, referencing several ripped from the headlines controversies, including the shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman and Florida's stand your ground law, the arrest of African American Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for disorderly conduct, the shooting of Larry King, a gender nonconforming teenager, by classmate Brandon McInerney and the gay panic defense, and the repeal of North Carolina's Racial Justice Act.
For more information and additional teaching materials, visit the companion site.