Defining Crimes - 5th Edition - Joseph L. Hoffman

Defining Crimes 5th Edition ISBN 9798892076388

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Defining Crimes continues to offer a bold and distinctive alternative to traditional Model Penal Code–centric casebooks. Written by a renowned author team, the Fifth Edition focuses on how crimes are actually defined and prosecuted today—by state and federal legislatures, courts, law enforcement, prosecutors, defense counsel, and juries.

Rather than following an abstract, code-driven structure, this casebook delves deeply into the real-world complexities, institutional interactions, and contested social values that shape the criminal justice system. Students are challenged to explore how law is made, applied, and interpreted in modern criminal practice—with a focus on contemporary cases, practical issues, and evolving legal doctrines.

New to the Fifth Edition:

• New leading cases, including:
  • City of Grants Pass v. Johnson (Eighth Amendment & homelessness)
  • Ruan v. United States (mens rea and overprescription)
• More tightly edited case selections to improve readability and classroom efficiency
• “Roadmap” introductions for each set of Notes and Questions to help guide student comprehension and faculty discussion
• Updated statutory excerpts, including revisions to California Penal Code §§ 261 & 261.6 (rape and consent)
• New and updated Notes, covering:
  • The influence and limits of the Model Penal Code
  • Elonis and the future of federal mens rea doctrine
  • Federal robbery law and evolving definitions
  • Fraud statutes, including:
    • Ciminelli v. U.S. (“money or property” fraud)
    • Percoco v. U.S. (“honest services” fraud)
  • Drug crimes and mens rea:
    • State v. Cleppe (knowledge and possession)
    • Diaz v. U.S. (statutory construction and mental state)
  • Sexual offenses:
    • People v. Weinstein (acquaintance rape)
    • Modern statutes, including Indiana’s rape law
  • Key doctrinal and constitutional developments:
    • Michigan v. Crumbley (causation and foreseeability)
    • Trump v. U.S. (presidential immunity and criminal liability)
    • People v. Chacon (entrapment by estoppel)
    • Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health (privacy and substantive criminal law)
    • Kahler v. Kansas (constitutional limits of moral culpability)

Key Features and Pedagogical Strengths:

• Distinctive emphasis on real-world criminal law—moving beyond theoretical models to the actual operation of criminal justice in American jurisdictions
• Rigorous yet accessible focus on traditional mens rea doctrines—general intent, specific intent, malice, mistake, and strict liability—with MPC coverage included for contrast
• Deep coverage of the most commonly prosecuted offenses, including:
  • Property crimes
  • Drug crimes
  • Crimes of sex and sexual violence
• Substantial treatment of rape law, designed to facilitate meaningful classroom dialogue on topics like acquaintance rape, intoxication, affirmative consent (“yes means yes”), and “no means no” reforms
• Extensive attention to institutional actors and processes, examining how legislatures, law enforcement, courts, and juries jointly shape the criminal legal landscape
• Introductory sections and contextual notes throughout provide students with the social, historical, and policy background needed to engage critically with the material
• Contemporary case law focus, with most principal cases decided since 2000 and updated notes that reflect headline-making legal developments

Defining Crimes, Fifth Edition is ideal for professors seeking a casebook that is grounded in the reality of American criminal practice, theoretically rich, and deeply engaged with pressing legal and social debates.

Hoffman & Stuntz Defining Crimes Fifth Edition ISBN 9798892076388