The American Dictionary of Criminal Justice: Key Terms and Major Court Cases

The Third Edition of The American Dictionary of Criminal Justice is a reference every student of the criminal justice system should own. Like any good dictionary, this resource will assist students in a variety of courses--as well as in writing papers and understanding terminology in journal articles. Over 5,000 terms, concepts, and names are included in the new edition, as well as over 125 new U.S. Supreme Court cases.

The Terms Section

The dictionary's interdisciplinary approach greatly enhances its effectiveness as a "one-stop" resource. Students will no longer need to waste precious study time seeking out definitions in numerous specialized sources. Many definitions are accompanied by examples from the research literature, illustrating how the terms apply in particular contexts.

This dictionary is useful for any criminology or criminal justice course--with applications in sociology, public administration, political science, and the administration of justice.

Key terms cut across the following areas: criminal law, criminal justice, forensics, gangs, computers and computer crime, criminal investigations, criminology, criminological theory, corrections, probation and parole, courts and sentencing, rules of criminal procedure, constitutional law, policing and police-community relations, jails and prisons, white-collar crime, sodomy laws, civil rights, tort law, victimization, juvenile law, Section 1983 actions, capital punishment, electronic surveillance, fines and asset forfeiture, deadly force, search and seizure, wrongful convictions, the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.

The dictionary includes numerous illustrations, figures, and tables that provide readers with visual portrayals of important criminal justice facts. A comprehensive listing of over 30 doctoral programs in criminal justice is provided, together with useful contact information.

An extensive listing of Internet sites is provided for locating useful information regarding important topics associated with law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. Also featured are listings of all probation/parole and state corrections departments and relevant contact information.

Finally, this section provides listings of leading criminological theorists, a summary of their major theoretical contributions, and brief synopses of their written works. Many theorists are cross-referenced with other scholars studying similar phenomena.

The Supreme Court Cases Section

Nine hundred and eighty of the most recent and significant leading U.S. Supreme Court cases have been abridged in a short paragraph format to highlight the major facts, holdings, and rationales. The complete case citations are boldfaced in brackets for more complete information about the case principals (e.g., Penry v. Johnson, 532 U.S. 782, 121 S.Ct. 1910 (2001) [Johnny Paul PENRY, Petitioner, v. Gary L. JOHNSON, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division] (Habeas Corpus Petitions; Jury Instructions; Sentencing).

All leading cases have major terms boldfaced to indicate case content. A sample of current cases includes:

Bunkley v. Florida (2003) retroactive rules
Chavez v. Martinez (2003) Section 1983 rules
Ewing v. California (2003) habitual offender statu