An Introduction to Criminal Law is an online interactive textbook appropriate for undergraduate criminal justice classes as a core text, or as a supplemental text for 1L law classes. It covers the basic concepts of Criminal Law, including the purposes of punishment, actus reus, mens rea, accomplice liability, homicide, sex crimes, theft crimes, inchoate crimes, defenses, and constitutional limitations on criminal statutes. In addition to this coverage, each chapter provides sample cases, presented in a way to teach students how to read a case and recognize the most important parts, including the issue of the case and the holding.
William W. Berry III is the Montague Professor of Law at the University of Mississippi. He has taught criminal law to law students and undergraduate criminal justice students for over a decade. In addition, he writes extensively about criminal law in the law reviews focusing on criminal sentencing, the Eighth Amendment, and capital punishment.
Chapter 1: What is Criminal Law? Why Punish?
Chapter 2: Bascis of Criminla Law, Part I: Actus Reus
Chapter 3: Bascis of Criminal Law, Part II: Mens Rea
Chapter 4: Accomplice Liability
Chapter 5: Theft Crimes
Chapter 6: Homicide Crimes
Chapter 7: Sex Crimes
Chapter 8: Inchoate Crimes
Chapter 9: Defenses
Chapter 10: Constitutional Limitations on Criminal Law