12 Jul Resources and Links on Criminal Law

Resources and Links on Criminal Law

Criminal law deals with crimes, usually felonies, and are prosecuted by the government. There is a lawyer for the state, the prosecuting attorney, and a lawyer for the defendant, the defense attorney. Individuals are assumed to be innocent until guilt is established beyond reasonable doubt. If the defendant cannot afford an attorney, the court will appoint a public defender to represent him.

Constitution

Constitution of the United States of America – Online text of the Constitution.

Founders’ Constitution – Extensive collection of writings about the Constitution of the United States of America.

Legislation

Dept of Justice – Criminal law reform.

Executive Branch

Juveniles – Website for the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Executive Orders – Compilation of all Executive orders.

Legislative Branch

Law Library of Congress – World’s largest law library.

Pending Legislation – Legislative information available from the Library of Congress.

Judicial Branch

Federal Primary Law – Guide to U.S. Code, cases, regulations and other matters.

Federal Judicial Center – A look inside the Federal Court system.

Supreme Court of the U.S. – Guide to the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

U.S. Courts – Guide to the U.S. Court system.

Crimes & Sentences

Is Justice Just? – Discussion of potential evils in the American Justice system.

National Institute of Justice – Authoritative research on crime prevention and justice.

Federal Bureau of Investigation – Investigates crimes of national security, civil rights, organized crimes and other high priority crimes.

Federal Bureau of Prisons – American correctional services.

United States Sentencing Commission – Online version of the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual.

Committee on the Judiciary – Transcript of testimony of the hearing on mandatory minimum sentencing issues.

Immortality and Criminal Sentences – Examination of the issues of longevity in relation to sentencing.

Death Penalty

Death Penalty – An analysis of the benefits and costs of the death penalty.

Death Penalty and the Eighth Amendment – A look at the legality of the death penalty.

Death Penalty – A history of the U.S. death penalty.

Juveniles – The facts about juveniles and the death penalty.

National Center for State Courts – List of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about capital punishment and the death penalty.

Evidence

Evidence Collection – How-to guide on proper methods of collecting evidence.

Rules of Evidence – Report on developments in the rules of evidence.

Rules of Evidence – Explanatory guide to the rules of evidence.

Law Enforcement and Juveniles – Annual report on juvenile crime.

Fingerprint Evidence – Report of the validity of fingerprint evidence.

Medicine

Center for AIDS Prevention Studies – Report on criminal law and HIV Transmission.

Forensic DNA – Online training course in forensic DNA.

Prisons

Law Libraries in Prison – Explanation of prisoners rights of access to law libraries.

Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 – Explanation of the act.

Prison Rape – Males – A human rights brief.

PubMed – Study on improving prison health care.

Discussion Groups

College of Criminology and Criminal Justice – List of on-line criminal justice discussion groups.

Michigan State University Libraries – List of criminal justice discussion groups.

Washburn Law – List of discussion groups.

Legal Indices

Georgia State University Law Library – List of legal indexes and databases.

Georgetown Law Library – List of legal indices.

Lillian Goldman Law Library – Online legal database.