Review book for Criminal Procedure

November 19, 2009 12:44 PM

What is the best hornbook for a law school Criminal Procedure class?

I'm taking a Criminal Procedure class, and would like a review book that synthesizes and summarizes many of the cases. Focus on Fourth and Fifth Amendments, with occasional forays into the Sixth.

posted by j1950 to Education (10 answers total)

Nutshell.
posted by Jaltcoh at 12:45 PM on November 19, 2009

Acing Crim Pro did right by me. I've heard good things about Nutshell as well.
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 12:51 PM on November 19, 2009

The Gilbert one is pretty good--the one with the white, clean look.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 12:58 PM on November 19, 2009

When I was in law school, it really depended on the professor. It was common knowledge that Professor A taught close to Gilberts, Professor B taught in line with Examples & Explanations. Do you know any students who have taken this class with the same professor? They'd probably have the best advice.
posted by terilou at 1:07 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

I like Emanuel Outlines...also, Barbri online lectures are very helpful to review.
posted by unreasonable at 2:28 PM on November 19, 2009

I survived in all of my law school classes with the Emanuel Crunchtime series. Most outlines are so detailed and large that you might as well just reread the casebook. The crunchtime series is pretty good about condensing out just the really important parts that you actually need to know.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 3:25 PM on November 19, 2009

I can't recall what I used, but I think it was from West's Understanding series.

Also, if you've put down your deposit for Bar/Bri, you can pick up their outlines. They're pretty much slightly-abbreviated versions of Gilbert's (Thomson West owns both). You'll get new books for the actual bar review course, but the outlines they give you at the outset can be very handy. I think the deposit is something like $175, which locks in your tuition at that year's rate and can be transferred nationwide.

(I don't work for Bar/Bri or Thomson West, but I had good results with their course.)

Good luck!
posted by tellumo at 3:44 PM on November 19, 2009

Have you tried finding one that's specifically keyed to your textbook? If there isn't one, I think you should ask the professor for his/her recommendation (as long as your professor hasn't been openly making any anti-hornbook rants).
posted by Ashley801 at 5:47 PM on November 19, 2009

A hornbook, you say? Perkins & Boyce. It's a little dated(my crim law prof has been using it for over 20 years), but the passages are generally short enough to skim and tell you everything you need to know about crimes from abduction to treason.
posted by motsque at 6:55 AM on November 20, 2009

Seconding terilou above; without doubt, the best hornbook for your CrimPro class is the one your prof used when s/he was a student.
posted by deejay jaydee at 8:47 AM on November 20, 2009