A Novel Approach to Criminal Courts

by David R. Lynch

This "teaching novel" is meant for use in courses on the American criminal courts, criminal court procedures, and related subjects. The book tells the fictional story of a burned-out former public defender turned high school math teacher, who very reluctantly agrees to represent one of his students charged with double vehicular homicide. The case starts in juvenile court but quickly winds up waived to adult court for ultimate jury trial there. The reader then travels through the entire adult criminal court process, beginning with a preliminary hearing and continuing on through such steps as pretrial motions, plea bargaining, jury selection, the trial itself, sentencing, and appeal. As the tale unfolds, the reader learns the "ins and outs" of criminal court process and how these various steps play out in real life. Perhaps even more importantly, the reader experiences the inner society of the "behind the scenes" world of a courthouse. The book consists of fifteen units, each of which contains two to four related chapters. Each chapter contains bolded key terms, representing real world concepts of importance embedded within the fictional story, and ends with questions for classroom discussion.

436 pages, Unknown Binding

Published July 1, 2019

About the author

David Lynch is a Professor and Chair of Criminal Justice at Weber State University.

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was absolutely great!

It taught me a great deal about the entire criminal system.

I read it out loud to my children (13 and 15) and they both really liked it.

I was surprised by how much I learned even after years of watching criminal shows (like "Law and Order").

I highly recommend it for anyone that wants to learn about the process, but not read a boring textbook.

[Brooke Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really entertaining textbook book. Makes the subject easy to grasp and doesn't bore you to death. Needs better editing though several times it confuses the names of characters in the dialog. Refers to Jack as Rick or vice versa.

[Ariel K · Rating 2 out of 5]

An easy-to-digest review of how the criminal court system operates, albeit one that could have used a thorough editor.