Ocean State Libraries

"Addressing the misunderstood and misrepresented aspects of the law in today's writing, this reliable guidebook demonstrates how to use legal concepts, terminology, and procedure to create fiction that is true to life and crackling with real-world tension. Examples from actual cases are provided along with excerpts of authentic courtroom dialogue. Topics covered include criminal and civil law; differences between federal, state, and Native American...

An illuminating exercise that challenges the reader's beliefs about the justice system A police trooper inspects a car during a routine traffic stop and finds a vast cache of weapons, complete with automatic rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and black ski masks-a veritable bank robber's kit. Should the men in the car be charged? If so, with what? A son neglects to care for his elderly mother, whose emaciated form is discovered shortly...

"Many aspects of modern life, from drug safety to fire codes, have come not from the sustained efforts of government bureaucrats but rather from the flash and sizzle of a tragic crime and the public outrage it provokes. This book is about those trigger crimes and how they have changed our world." --

From the Publisher: Amid rising public concern about the proliferation and privatization of prisons, and their promise of enormous profits, world-renowned author and activist Angela Y. Davis argues for the abolition of the prison system as the dominant way of responding to America's social ills. "In thinking about the possible obsolescence of the prison," Davis writes, "we should ask how it is that so many people could end up in prison without major...

When an angry client firebombs her offices, consulting solicitor Josephine Newton is forced to take a new job as a barrister at Knox, a high-powered legal firm where her old flame Lewis works. Worried about leaving behind her former clients turned colleagues, Josephine sets up a new legal office in the building's basement for Johnny, a reformed car thief, and Helena, a brilliant legal mind with a crippling fear of courtrooms. --

The vice president and former San Francisco district attorney presents her vision for smart criminal justice and public safety.
Before she became the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris was committed to fighting crime as a prosecutor in San Francisco's Hall of Justice. Originally published in 2009, Smart on Crime shares her insight and offers a new approach designed to end the cycle of repeat offenders.
Harris...

"Misinformation about self-defense rights and laws is what has sparked major debate over the misapplication of lethal force in civilian communities. Bruce Lawlor identifies the major issues in self-defense cases, and the legal approaches used to resolve them. The result is less confusion and greater understanding of what self-defense is, and how to go about determining if a homicide is self-defense or murder." --