The book explains the origins of criminal law to provide an awareness and understanding of the historical development of criminal statutes. It also explains in detail some of the fundamental concepts of criminal law, as those concepts form the foundation upon which criminal statutes are constructed. The book explores different categories of specific criminal offenses, beginning with homicide, and also examines some of the more popular criminal law defenses. It explains the criminal trial process from arrest through the final verdict, to illustrate some of the procedural mechanics of a typical criminal trial and to place the criminal law in an appropriate procedural context. The book uses explanatory hypotheticals to help analyze some of the more difficult concepts in an understandable context, and suggests solutions to the questions raised by the examples. In addition, case studies analyze how actual cases interpreted and/or applied some of the concepts presented, and discussion questions further explore and expand upon some of the issues. Glossary, bibliography, index