Introduction: what makes an act a crime? / William J. Chambliss -- 1. Asset forfeiture -- Types of asset forfeiture -- Asset forfeiture in American history -- Recent history: acts and legislation -- Asset forfeiture and police budgets -- Pro: arguments supporting asset forfeiture -- Funding police and saving taxpayers -- Restoration to victims -- Con: arguments against asset forfeiture -- The Taint Doctrine -- Constitutional rights and pivotal cases -- 2. DNA evidence -- History of DNA typing in criminal justice -- Specialized processes to enhance DNA testing -- The misunderstood science of DNA testing -- DNA storage -- Developing felon databases of DNA -- Conducting a mass screening of ordinary citizens -- Admissibility of DNA evidence -- History and new tests -- Current legal and ethical issues -- Who should be in the database? -- Database and familial searches -- Touch/transfer/low-level DNA samples -- Post-conviction testing: access and timelines -- Pro: support for expanding DNA databases -- Con opposition to expanding DNA databases -- DNA dragnets -- Future of DNA evidence and new scientific techniques -- 3. Double jeopardy -- History of the Double Jeopardy Rule -- The attachment of jeopardy -- Same offense -- Exceptions to the Double Jeopardy Clause -- Separate sovereignties -- Petite policy -- Government appeal -- Termination without acquittal or conviction -- Application in non-criminal proceedings -- Pro: arguments in favor of double jeopardy -- Con: Arguments against double jeopardy -- 4. Drug laws -- Drugs: the stalled movement for decriminalization -- History: changing frames for drug laws -- The 1960s and 1970s: cultural strife and moral dissonance -- From the Reagan Era onward -- Pro: the prophylactic features of criminalization -- Con: criticism of the War on Drugs -- Hints of a slowly shifting drug policy -- Challenging the punitive approach to drug enforcement -- International parallels -- 5. DUI penalties -- Relevant databases -- Effects or influences of drugs on driving -- Control of impaired drivers -- Measuring blood alcohol content -- Implied consent Laws and administrative sanctions -- Zero tolerance laws -- Standard criminal penalties for DUI -- Nontraditional DUI penalties -- Locking the ignition -- Pro: arguments for strong impaired-driving laws -- Con: enforcement and sanctions are inadequate -- Questionable deterrence --

6. Exclusionary rules -- Building the exclusionary rules -- Fourth Amendment context -- Fifth Amendment context -- Sixth Amendment context -- Fruit of the Poisonous Tree -- Limiting the exclusionary rules -- Pro: arguments in support of the exclusionary rule -- Con: arguments opposing the exclusionary rule -- 7. Expert witnesses and hired guns -- Quality of science -- Expert witnesses in criminal cases -- Psychiatric/psychological evaluation -- Physical evidence evaluation -- Medical/biological evidence evaluation -- Documentary and computer evidence evaluation -- Acoustical evidence evaluation -- Traffic accident reconstruction -- Financial evaluation -- Hired guns -- Pro: arguments in favor of using expert witnesses -- Con: arguments opposing the use of expert witnesses -- 8. Eyewitness testimony and accuracy -- History of eyewitness identification research -- The research of Loftus and Wells -- DNA testing and factors in eyewitness error -- Pro: variables leading to accurate eyewitness testimony -- Estimator variables -- System variables -- Con: variables leading to mistaken eyewitness testimony -- Estimator variables -- System variables -- Lineup presentation method -- Administrator's behavior -- 9. Gun control laws -- History of gun control and gun rights -- Foreign examples of gun control -- Gun control laws and the Constitution -- Recent landmark cases -- Types of gun control laws -- Keeping guns out of the hands of criminals -- Waiting periods -- Safe storage and distance -- Major Federal gun control initiatives -- Gun rights legislation: conceal and carry -- Gun laws: the empirical evidence -- Pro: arguments in favor of gun control -- Con: arguments in opposition to gun control -- 10. Insanity defense -- Procedures involved in the defense -- History of the defense -- The M'Naghten Test -- Irresistible impulse -- The Durham Test -- American Law Institute Test -- Guilty but mentally ill -- Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984 -- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Postpartum Psychosis -- The Supreme Court gets involved -- Pro: arguments in support of the insanity defense -- Con: arguments against the insanity defense --

11. Jury system -- Mechanics of the jury system -- History of the jury system -- The Supreme Court shapes the American Jury System -- Fair cross-section requirement -- Pro: arguments in support of the American Jury System -- Con: criticism of the American Jury System -- 12. Mandatory sentencing -- A brief history of mandatory sentencing -- Describing mandatory sentencing today -- Rationale for mandatory sentencing -- Effectiveness of mandatory sentencing -- Pro: arguments for mandatory minimum sentencing -- Protecting the public -- Sentencing equity -- Con: arguments against mandatory minimum sentencing -- Discretion and bias -- Rigid and expensive -- Future issues in mandatory sentencing -- 13. Miranda rights -- The law prior to Miranda -- Ernesto Miranda -- The Miranda Ruling -- Court specifies the language of the warnings -- The aftermath -- Congress, the Court, and the problem of Miranda -- Subsequent caselaw -- Berghuis v. Thompkins: a critical change -- Pro: arguments in support of the Miranda Ruling -- Con: criticism of the Miranda Ruling -- 14. Plea bargaining -- The development and spread of plea bargaining -- Plea bargaining in America and internationally -- Pro: arguments in support of plea bargaining -- The issue of coercion -- In the shadow of trials -- Plea bargains as contracts -- Substantive justice -- Con: arguments in opposition to plea bargaining -- Diverging from the shadow of trials -- The contract view fails the public -- Hawks and Doves -- Result of an overadversarial system -- 15. Polygraphs -- History of the polygraph -- Polygraph groundbreakers: Larson and Reid -- Procedures of the polygraph -- The use of polygraphs in the Criminal Justice System -- The admissibility of polygraphs in criminal cases -- Daubert and Scheffer: a split in the Federal Circuits -- The exception: New Mexico -- Pro: supporting the validity of the polygraph -- Rehabilitation and recidivism -- Con: questioning the validity of the polygraph -- The error rate -- Poor research standards -- No uniform training standards or procedures --

16. Restorative justice -- Basic premises of restorative justice -- Conflict as property -- The work of Braithwaite and Zehr -- History of restorative justice -- Victim-offender reconciliation programs -- victims' rights movements and indigenous justice -- Restorative justice interventions -- Victim-offender mediation -- Family group conferencing -- Sentencing circles -- Community restorative boards -- Restorative community service -- Pro: arguments in support of restorative justice -- Offender agreements and recidivism -- Con: arguments against restorative justice -- Whose justice? -- Due process, fair sentencing, and mainstreaming -- 17. Sentencing disparities -- Inconsistencies in the research -- Methodological flaws in sentencing research -- Variables used in sentencing research -- Theoretical premises of sentencing disparity -- Ethnicity and disparity in sentencing -- Disparities in sentencing and sentencing guidelines -- RDS and the War on Drugs -- Crack versus powder -- Pro: positive outcomes of racial disparity research -- Con: negative outcomes of racial disparity research -- 18. Sex offender registry -- The history of sex offender legislation -- Contemporary sex offender registry legislation -- Wetterling Act and Megan's Law -- Inconsistent procedures, specific types of information -- Sex offender levels -- Updated legislation -- The tier system -- The legality of sex offender legislation -- Pro: arguments in support of sex offender registration -- Con: arguments against sex offender registration -- 19. Three-strikes laws -- The history and development of Three-Strikes laws -- The Klaas murder -- The legality of Three-Strike laws -- Pro: arguments in support of Three-Strike laws -- The deterrent effect -- Con: arguments against Three-Strike laws -- Burdensome costs and racial disparities -- 20. Victim rights and restitution -- Victim rights overview -- Restitution overview -- Typical victim rights -- Receiving information and notification -- Reasonable protection and separate waiting areas -- Availability of transportation -- Participation and attendance in the justice process -- Restitution and return of property -- Victim services and applying for victim compensation -- Expectation of compliance and legal remedies -- State legislation for victim rights and restitution -- Federal legislation for victim rights and restitution -- Proposed Victim Rights Amendment -- Pro: arguments for constitutional victims' rights -- Con: arguments against constitutional victims' rights -- Conclusion.

Includes bibliographical references and index.