Louisiana Criminal Law: Cases & Materials

Louisiana Criminal Law: Cases and Materials is a textbook designed for use in the basic Criminal Law course taught in a law school or an undergraduate program in Criminal Justice. The text includes cases from the state of Louisiana and statutes from the Louisiana Criminal Code. The format of this book is a combination of Louisiana criminal cases, statutes, comments and questions. Each chapter of the book begins with an introduction to the basic principles and crimes that will be discussed in the chapter followed by questions and comments. The cases have been selected because they reflect the issues of major importance regarding basic concepts of criminal law as interpreted by the Louisiana Supreme Court and Louisiana appellate courts. Selected provisions of the Louisiana Criminal Code are included in the Appendix. The questions at the end of the cases should assist students in developing their analytical skills and understanding of criminal law. The cases and statutory appendix should provide students with all the information they need to successfully answer the questions. The questions should assist in promoting relevant classroom discussions. After an introductory chapter discussing general principles contained in the Louisiana Criminal Code, the text contains chapters on the guilty mind including criminal intent and criminal negligence followed by chapters on justification and excuse including insanity, intoxication, self-defense, defense of property and defense of others; parties to crime and inchoate crimes; homicide; assault and battery; sexual offenses; kidnapping; arson; burglary; theft and robbery.