Reviews (4)

Comprehensive Reference
Criminal Investigation: The Art and Science is an excellent reference book for overall fundamental investigative techniques and specific criminal investigation techniques for specific crimes. I frequently cite the text in the development of law enforcement courses (basic and in-service. The information in the text is current and accurate, which is typically uncommon, as most other texts on criminal investigation simply update a book's cover and neglect the content. I would highly recommend this book as a comprehensive reference book for new and experienced officers.

Investigating: what is it?
Criminal investigation is a very poplular subject these days with all of the CSI's and Law an Orders, but what about the facts, what is real? This book is the textbook for my Principles of Criminal Investigations class, part of my Investigatvie Services major in Criminal Justice. It very acuratly illistrates what criminal investigation is about, it is very much about the factual part of invetigations. Also it is not just about investigating the scene of a crime but its very vividly describes crimes and criminals as well as other aspects of the investigation like the psychology and methods invovled in ivertviewing.
Filled with dry, common-sense dribble...
I can't believe I'm taking an entire class to cover this material. Much of it is common sense, and what's not...is on an elementary level. The book is dry, & I've read 9 chapters in just over a week. It's seriously lacking!
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Subjects:  1. Criminal Investigation    2. Criminal Law    3. Criminal Law - General    4. Criminal Procedure    5. Criminology    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Criminal investigation & detection    10. Social Science / Criminology   

Reviews (6)

Very Interesting and Engaging
A true to life story involving the Rhode Island couple Martha "Sunny" von B�low and her husband Claus von B�low whowas accused of injecting her with insulin, sending her straight into a coma.We were made to understand that Claus did this so that he could marry his mistress Alexandra Isles; a soap opera actress.

Subjects:  1. 1926-    2. Courts    3. Law    4. Newport    5. Rhode Island    6. Trials (Murder)    7. Trials, litigation, etc    8. Von Bulow, Claus,    9. Von Bèulow, Claus,    10. Crime & violence    11. Law / General    12. Police & security services    13. The law, legal issues    14. Von Bülow, Claus   

Subjects:  1. Criminal Procedure    2. Criminology    3. Law    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Criminal law    6. Law / Criminal Procedure   

Reviews (3)

Excellent core text for any forensic science course
Excellent book ideal for any forensic science student! Includes detailed information on all aspects of forensic science incl. recent advances in DNA and computer forensics..could not find any topics which were left out.Superbly illustrated with full colour photos.Chapters written by experts in their particular field. Definitely recommended, not only to students but to all forensic practitioners.

not impressed
This is a superb book...for junior high or high school students. Yes, it is easy to read, but I found the highlighted words in the text (to indicate they are in the glossary) to be a nuisance. The authors over-simplify everything and attempt to encompass too many areas of the broad field, so it will only be of use to readers who have never seen CSI or know absolutely nothing about forensic science. Saferstein's introductory book on forensic science would be a better choice for your money.

Excellent Guide
This book is excellent for anyone interested in Forensic Science. Just as the synopsis says this brings to light the reality of forensics as a science rather than psychology. It is in depth but clear and easy to understand - it even has a huge glossary of terms at the rear with the words highlighted in the chapters for easy acess to their meanings. It will be an invaluable help to people with an interest in forensic science.As this book says, it's an introduction on "scientific and investigative techniques" but don't be fooled, the detail is immense and the book is superbly laid out. Clear diagrams, photos and graphs are well placed to help the reader further understand what they are taking in. The text it's self is easy to follow and friendly to read and the concepts are well explained. What I especially like about this book are the questions at the end of each section (nothing formidable) and the case studies and examples that further help to emphasize the points being put across. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crime laboratories    2. Criminal Law - General    3. Criminal investigation    4. Evidence, Criminal    5. Forensic Medicine    6. Forensic Science    7. Forensic sciences    8. Handbooks, manuals, etc    9. Law    10. Legal Reference / Law Profession    11. Medical    12. Criminal investigation & detection    13. Law / Forensic Science   

Reviews (25)

Outstanding resource
I have been doing a lot of research into changing my career to that of a PI.This book is the best primer I have read.It is very straight forward, easy to read and understand, and gives examples from the author's experiences.The author does a great job of de-mystifying what a PI does, and does not, do.I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the field, especially at this price.

Complete Idiots guide not for Idiots!
This was one great book! everything you need to know about Private Investigation is in there. Tips, Tricks, Info sites, It has it all from P.I. Licensing to License Plates! Great case Stories too! It ROCKS!!!

Good Information
This book is informative and is in ordinary enough language that your automatically comfortable reading it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Law - General    2. Detectives    3. General    4. Handbooks, manuals, etc    5. Investigations    6. Law    7. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Private investigators    10. United States    11. Criminal investigation & detection    12. Police & security services    13. True Crime / General   

Reviews (2)

How To Read This Casebook
This is pretty much the standard case book for first year Criminal Law class.
Law School Begins....
This is your typical first year coursebook....mounds of reading. I think the best feature is the "notes" section after the case. This tests your knowledge of the issue and rule better than just reading. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Law    2. Criminal Law - General    3. Criminal Procedure    4. Law    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession   

Reviews (3)

Great Study Aid for Criminal Law
These cards were a great way for me to study for my exam.I found the colorful examples and the great black letter law and theory definition cards to be very effective.In addition the way these cards are organized is great.

Fantastic
Excellent book. It was very thorough and well written.

Fantastic
Excellent book. It was very thorough and well written. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Law - General    2. Criminal law    3. General    4. Law    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Outlines, syllabi, etc    7. United States   

Reviews (8)

Useless waste of time, money, and effort
It is a shame that professors force their students to shell out big bucks to buy casebooks that don't help.
Do support Dressler's income by buying his supplements
Do yourself a favor...if you are assigned this textbook go ahead and buy the Black Letter Outline series by Dressler even if you don't use it until closer to finals. It gives you what you need to know and simplifies things so that you don't have to search round and round for it in the textbook. It's unfortunate Dressler feels the need to sell his supplements and as a result has to make his textbook so crappy. And yes, it really IS that bad.

Buy a companion guide!
The text is not a good tool for 1Ls to learn crim law by itself.Most of my classmates and I found the text to be poorly organized and written - especially for those just trying to grasp the intricacies of crim law.Probably a better book for studying statutory interpretation or philosophy of crim law.Prepare to become intimate with the MPC if you are assigned this text.I highly recomend a companion book for the text, one keyed to it such as Blackletter outline by Dressler or the Understanding Crim Law companion by Dressler.I used both and they saved me from utter confusion. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cases    2. Criminal Procedure    3. Criminal law    4. Law    5. United States    6. Courts & procedure   

Reviews (2)

Used 7th edition as secondary material for teaching undergrad CrimLaw
The layout of the book is user friendly, and the case extracts are concise.I designated it as a reference book for my students and placed it on call in the library for them to review.It can be overly simplistic for an advanced reader, but on target for a good majority of freshman students.Maybe the 8th edition will show some evolution.

no recommendation
I used Criminal Law by Gardner and Anderson as my text when I taught an undergrad Criminal Law class.I found it overly simplistic, even for that level, and left my students with too many loose ends.The case excerptsused are drastically edited, sometimes only a sentence, which does not helpdemonstrate the proposition the cases supposedly stand for.It seemed thatthe authors also spent an inordinate amount of text on relativelyunimportant topics.I also found the instructor's edition to be unhelpful. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cases    2. Criminal Procedure    3. Criminal law    4. Criminology    5. Law    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. United States    8. Law / Criminal Procedure   

Subjects:  1. Criminal Justice Administration    2. Criminal Law - General    3. Criminal Procedure    4. Criminal justice, Administration of    5. Criminology    6. Criminology Research    7. Law    8. Legal Reference / Law Profession    9. Methodology    10. Research    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. Crime & criminology    14. Law / Criminal Procedure   

Reviews (2)

Criminal Interrogation and Confessions: bias and distortion at work
Old material that has been rehashed a number of times, but it is necessary to read it in order to understand the bias that is inherent in contemporary investigations.It is clearly illustrated that there is no actual scientific approach, no consideration of alternative explanations, but instead there is only an attempt to obtain confessions.Inbau, Reid, and others have never included consideration of other, more scientifically supported discussions such as those by Gudjunsson and G. Wells.The writing in the book is not very good.It is overly simple in style, and the organization is also simple, but not informative.Read the book for history and for understanding, but not for factual, supported knowledge.

Still the interrogator's Bible
Decades after its first edition, this is still considered the best work on interrogating a criminal suspect.The authors walk you through every step, towards the goal of clearing the innocent and eliciting confessions fromthe guilty.No detail or nuance is left unexplored, not only of thesuspect's behavior, but of your own as well.This book is a must read foranyone involved in criminal justice. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Confession (Law)    2. Criminal Law - General    3. Forensic Science    4. Law    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Police questioning    7. United States    8. Criminal investigation & detection   

Reviews (2)

awful and outdated
I picked up this book and was shocked by the writing and research. Admittedly, this is a book based on science from ten years ago but some chapters are so bad I don't think the information was correct even then. Some chapters may be good, (fingerprints,questioned documents) but do not attempt any subject based on a real science- drug chemistry, DNA analysis, etc. As far as I can tell, these chapters were written by attorneys with no science training. They do not explain concepts very clearly I suspect because they do not really understand them. Save your money. With the current state of CSI madness there has got to be better "forensic science for attorneys/nonscientists" writing being published.

Perfect reference book
This book is a necessity for any criminal defense lawyer. This contains the information police use in their training and procedure, as well as what to expect from an expert witness. Outstanding references after each chapter on where to find additional information as well as your own experts. Not as many illustrations as previous editions, but much more up to date material such as DNA testing and the background information so any lay person can understand what the experts are doing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civil Law    2. Criminal Law    3. Evidence    4. Evidence, Criminal    5. Evidence, Expert    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Reference    8. United States    9. Civil law (general works)   

Reviews (1)

Shaking habits
Originating from the Forensic University of Lausanne (Switzerland), the authors produced an up-to-date register of not only optico-physico-chemical skin impression developments, but also of their interpretation to produce a ridge (fingerprint, barefoot) individualization.Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Law - General    2. Criminal investigation    3. Fingerprints    4. Forensic Science    5. Forensic sciences    6. Identification    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Life Sciences - Human Anatomy & Physiology    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Criminal investigation & detection    12. Law / Forensic Science   

Reviews (2)

Not up to West Hornbook Quality
I own all five first year West Hornbooks (Property, Contracts, etc.) and they all are a great help except for this one.It seems every time I have a question, this one doesn't have an answer.I love the other West Hornbooks, and after using the others, I just can't put this one in the same category for breadth, helpfulness or clarity.

A great help
This book was first recommended to me by an undergraduate professor as a tool for gaining a fundamental understanding of certain limited cases.However, after checking it out from the library on multiple occasions, Ifinally broke down and bought it.The authors present material in such away that even those subjects beyond the scope of my research becameinteresting. Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Law - General    2. Criminal law    3. Law    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. United States   

Subjects:  1. Criminal Law - General    2. Criminology    3. Law    4. Sociology    5. Crime & criminology    6. Law / Criminal Law   

Reviews (1)

A must have for a criminal procedure class
This book is a clear and concise rendition of the law regarding criminal procedure.It includes all the cases that one would find addressed in a criminal procedure class.This book is worth its weight in gold if you area law student.It not only substituted flawlessly for my textbook (whichincidentally was written by the same two authors) but it was much easier tounderstand.The nuthsell series is one of the best outline seriesavailable in my opinion. I should point out however that the format is notthat of a traditional law outline.It reads like a book rather than like aregular bulletted outline.However I found that the narrative format madeit easy to understand the material.And unlike other outlines, this bookcan stand on its own for a quick overview of a topic rather than othertraditional outlines which require some familiarity with the subject beforethe outline makes any sense.I would reccomend this book and this seriesto anyone who needs to learn (quickly) about an area of law. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Procedure    2. Law    3. Legal Reference / Law Profession    4. United States    5. Courts & procedure    6. Criminal law   

Subjects:  1. Cases    2. Civil rights    3. Criminal Investigation    4. Criminal Procedure    5. Law    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. United States    8. Crime & criminology    9. Criminal law    10. Social Science / Criminology   

Reviews (19)

Important read for anyone interested in American Jurisprudence
Gideon's Trumpet is an account of Clarence Earl Gideon -- an indigent prisoner who took his Habeas case to the Supreme Court and spawned the 60's federal and state movement to establish legal representation for the outcast. His case, Gideon vs. Wainwright (1963), resulted in the Supreme Court's unanimous decision to overturn a 21-year-old ruling in Betts vs. Brady, and secured the right of legal representation for the accused who do not have the means to pay for a counsel in the United States.
Great Legal History
This outstanding book dissects Gideon v. Wainright, the landmark 1963 Supreme Court case which held that indigent criminal defendants are entitled to legal counsel at government expense.Lewis tells the story from the viewpoints of the lawyers, the judges, and Gideon himself.He mixes legal history with human interest stories; his writing is unfailingly clear; and he provides a wonderful primer on Supreme Court litigation.The particular issues in Gideon are no longer of burning public interest, but the broad message that our criminal justice system must protect basic human rights is more relevant than ever in 2005.Lawyers and laymen alike will enjoy the book.Six stars.

Well worth the time.
I was required to read "Gideon" as part of my summer reading in preparation for my first year of law school, and I am very glad that I did.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Gideon, Clarence Earl    3. History - General History    4. Legal History    5. Right to counsel    6. Sociology    7. Trials, litigation, etc    8. United States    9. Wainwright, Louie L    10. Wainwright, Louie L.    11. Law / Legal History   

Reviews (1)

Excellent Text
This book is an outstanding reference on crime scene investigation. Gardner writes from experience after many years with the US Army's Criminal Investigation Division, an agency known for their superb crime scene skills. Gardner's book covers the many facets of crime scene investigation with particular emphasis on documentation, one of the most important aspects. He presents the Army's 18-step method for crime scene processing which the reader will find to be an excellent model to follow.
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Subjects:  1. Crime scene searches    2. Criminal Law - General    3. Criminal investigation    4. Criminology    5. Evidence, Criminal    6. Forensic Science    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. Criminal investigation & detection    11. Law / Forensic Science   

Reviews (1)

Exceptional Book
Bruce Berg does it again.Another exceptional book that anyone interested in the subject must have.This book features many design characteristics that make it easy and even fun to read.No matter what book you currently count on for Criminal Investigation, if you don't have this text in your library, you are lacking the finest text on the subject. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Investigation    2. Criminal Law - General    3. Criminal Procedure    4. Forensic Science    5. Law    6. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Sociology    9. Jurisprudence & General Issues    10. Law / Criminal Law