American Criminal Law in Cases

江溯Aug 2025

Rating 3.9
Word count
347K words
Chapters
67
ISBN
9787301319406

Tags

Law Criminal JusticeThinking ModeRepresentative CasesCase Law StudyComparative LawTheory and PracticeAmerican Criminal Law

Summary

Drawing on landmark American criminal law cases, this book offers a systematic introduction to the legislative and judicial issues of the general and specific parts of American criminal law, presents a picture of American criminal justice, and reveals how American criminal law thinks in theory and practice. The cases selected are representative and of significant theoretical and practical research value.

Editor's review

This is a criminal law study book built around landmark American cases. Its value lies not in listing statutes but in showing, through real cases, the points of contention, lines of argument, and modes of judicial reasoning in the general and specific parts of American criminal law, so that readers can see how rules are interpreted and applied to concrete facts. The selected cases are representative and combine theoretical discussion with practical significance, making the book suitable as supplementary reading for comparative criminal law and Anglo-American criminal law courses, and for advanced readers with a foundation in criminal law who wish to understand common law reasoning. It should not be read as casual reading; rather, follow the judicial opinions with questions in mind and note how judges define issues and distinguish precedent from exception. For Chinese readers, the case reasoning presented here can be contrasted with Chinese criminal law knowledge, helping broaden analytical perspectives. Note that the cases are dense, and the book works better when used alongside classroom teaching or thematic seminars.

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Reading tips

  1. Read the general part cases first to grasp the foundations of criminal responsibility and the defense system in American criminal law, then move on to the specific offenses
  2. For each case, first outline the facts and issues yourself, then check your reasoning against the judicial opinion
  3. Keep a notebook recording the judge's argumentative steps and dissenting opinions for comparison and synthesis
  4. Read in comparison with relevant Chinese criminal law institutions, noting similarities and differences to develop a comparative law perspective

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 序
  3. 第一章 刑罚的原理
  4. 第一节 刑罚理论
  5. 第二节 量刑原理
  6. 第三节 比例原则
  7. 第四节 死刑问题
  8. 第二章 刑法的解释
  9. 第一节 界定犯罪
  10. 第二节 明确性原则
  11. 第三章 犯罪客观要件
  12. 第一节 作为
  13. 第二节 不作为
  14. 第三节 持有
  15. 第四节 身份或状态
  16. 第四章 犯罪主观要件
  17. 第一节 普通法：一般意图与特殊意图
  18. 第二节 《模范刑法典》犯罪心态
  19. 第三节 转移意图
  20. 第四节 严格责任
  21. 第五节 事实错误
  22. 第六节 法律错误
  23. 第五章 因果关系
  24. 第一节 事实因果关系
  25. 第二节 法律因果关系
  26. 第六章 犯罪未遂
  27. 第一节 客观要件
  28. 第二节 主观要件
  29. 第三节 不能犯
  30. 第四节 中止犯
  31. 第七章 犯罪教唆
  32. 第一节 教唆未遂
  33. 第二节 区分教唆与未遂
  34. 第八章 犯罪共谋
  35. 第一节 犯罪协议
  36. 第二节 主观要件
  37. 第三节 单一共谋与多重共谋
  38. 第四节 共谋与实体犯罪的责任
  39. 第九章 共同犯罪
  40. 第一节 客观要件
  41. 第二节 主观要件
  42. 第十章 正当防卫
  43. 第一节 自我防卫
  44. 第二节 受虐妇女综合征
  45. 第三节 为他人防卫
  46. 第四节 财产防卫
  47. 第五节 逮捕
  48. 第十一章 紧急避险
  49. 第十二章 公民不服从
  50. 第十三章 胁迫
  51. 第十四章 警察圈套
  52. 第一节 主观检验法
  53. 第二节 客观检验法
  54. 第十五章 精神病
  55. 第十六章 减轻责任
  56. 第十七章 醉态
  57. 第十八章 证明标准
  58. 第十九章 杀人罪
  59. 第一节 预谋杀人罪
  60. 第二节 非预谋杀人罪
  61. 第三节 重罪谋杀规则
  62. 第二十章 强奸罪
  63. 第二十一章 财产罪
  64. 第一节 盗窃罪
  65. 第二节 侵占罪
  66. 第三节 抢劫罪
  67. 第四节 夜盗罪

FAQ

Can I understand this book without having systematically studied American law? Yes, but some basic criminal law knowledge is needed. It is advisable to first understand basic concepts such as the elements of an offense, mens rea, and defenses, then follow the cases to gradually understand common law reasoning; when encountering unfamiliar institutions, look up background information first, and do not expect to understand everything in one reading.
Is this book suitable as a textbook for systematically studying American criminal law? It is better suited as supplementary case reading, used alongside a textbook or course. Cases show how rules are actually applied, but systematic conceptual framing still depends on a textbook; combining the two gives both framework and examples, making study more solid.
What parts of the cases should I focus on when reading? Focus on fact-finding, issue formulation, the court's line of reasoning, and dissenting opinions. Pay particular attention to how judges distinguish precedent and weigh policy against principle; these are precisely the hallmarks of common law criminal law thinking and the most valuable part for comparative research.

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About the author

江溯 Author

Publicly available personal information about Jiang Su is limited. Judging from the twelve works held in the collection, Jiang Su's writing and editorial work centers mainly on criminal law. Representative works include the edited volumes Criminal Law Review: Justifiable Defense (Volume 48), Criminal Law Review 45: The Intersection of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law, Criminal Law Review: The Transformation of Criminal Law, Criminal Law Review: The Localization of Criminal Law Studies, and Criminal Law Review: The Technologization of Criminal Law, as well as foundational and comparative readings such as Fundamentals of Criminal Law, Fundamentals of Criminal Procedure Law, and American Case Law in Criminal Law. The selections span both criminal law and criminal procedure, addressing traditional issues such as justifiable defense and the intersection of the two fields, while also exploring frontier directions such as the technologization and localization of criminal law and introducing American case law. This reflects an editorial approach grounded in local concerns and attentive to comparative perspectives, offering material of reference for researchers and students of criminal law.