Every law student has been there: Sitting in class as the professor calls on students to explain a case in the casebook, trying to spot a pattern for when they might hear their name. In this instance, though, the scenario is flipped: Professor Alex Kreit is answering the questions, and he knows exactly what to say. That’s because he wrote the casebook.
Professor Kreit is the author of Criminal Law In Focus, published this past summer by Wolters Kluwer, a global publisher of a wide range of educational and professional books and materials.
So picture this, Professor Kreit is in front of the class, and the questions begin:
What is it about Criminal Law In Focus that makes it stand out from all of the other criminal law casebooks ever published?
Professor Kreit: “Criminal Law In Focus goes beyond the traditional core crimes covered in all casebooks, such as homicides and sex offenses, to include more modern offenses, such as drug possession, that can be the bread-and-butter of criminal law practices today.
“The book also starts off a little differently from what has been a traditional approach. Instead of beginning with an emphasis on the elements of crime, such as mens rea and causation, in the abstract, it introduces those concepts in the context of particular crimes.
“The ‘Real Life Applications’ feature of the book is just that: real-life issues related to crimes that lawyers have to consider, such plea bargaining and prosecutorial discretion.”
What types of notes or questions did you write to accompany the cases, and what does the book try to elicit with them?
“The book includes a good deal of explanatory text that provides context for the cases and explains important points of legal doctrine that aren’t covered in the cases in the book. After each case or group of cases, there is a ‘Real Life Applications’ section that includes a set of problems, most of which are based on real cases. The problems aim to have students apply the legal rules from the cases in a practice-oriented setting.”
What is the sequential development of the book? For example, how do you lay a foundation for students with little knowledge of criminal law and build on it?
“The book mostly follows the organization of most criminal law casebooks, with a few differences. It begins with introductory material on the purposes of punishment and on the sources and components of criminal law. From there, it turns to coverage of individual criminal offenses. In contrast to most casebooks, which begin coverage of individual offenses with homicides, my book begins with property offenses and drug offenses before homicide offenses. This approach allows students to become familiar with the bread-and-butter offenses that make up a significant chunk of criminal court dockets before wading into the law of homicide offenses.”
Is there anything different in the approach of contemporary casebooks to what lawyers who graduated, say, 10 to 20 years ago remember?
“Most casebooks today continue to use the same approach that books used 10, 20 or even 30 or 40 years ago. One of the things that makes Criminal Law In Focus different is that, as part of the Wolters Kluwer new Focus Casebook Series, it takes a more modern approach, by including lots of explanatory text, practice-oriented problems and context for the cases in the book.”
The book was just published, but do you know of any law schools using it?
“I used it in my class fall semester. But because it was released over the summer, the soonest anyone else would be able to use it in a class, as a practical matter, is the spring 2022 semester. The publisher has told me it has had interest from some professors in using the book in their classes.”
• Want to see how Criminal Law In Focus compares to casebooks you remember as a student? You can find chapter summaries at https://books.google.com by typing Criminal Law In Focus in the search bar.