Overview

Criminal (In)Justice: A Critical Introduction, Third Edition examines the American criminal justice system and the social forces that shape it. Written in a conversational voice, it challenges students to confront structural inequalities in the justice system and the broader society it serves, prompting the question, ""What can I do to make this better?""

Full Product Details

Author:   Aaron Fichtelberg
Publisher:   Sage Publications Inc Ebooks
Imprint:   SAGE Publications Inc
Edition:   3rd Revised edition
ISBN:  

9781071956151

ISBN 10:   1071956159
Pages:   491
Publication Date:   14 April 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

About the Author Acknowledgments To Professors Using This Book General Introduction Part I: Crime Chapter 1: Defining, Classifying, and Measuring Crime The Media and Crime The Rhetoric of “Crime” Defining Crime Classifying Crime Measuring Crime The Politics of Crime Data Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Notes Chapter 2: Criminal Law The Rule of Law The “Ingredients” (Elements) of Crime Defenses Jaywalking: The Invention of a Crime Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Notes Chapter 3: Criminology Perspectives on the Crime Problem Religious Approaches to Crime Classical Criminology Biological Criminology Psychological Criminology Sociological Criminology Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Notes Chapter 4: Crime and Inequality Economic Inequality and Crime Racial Inequality and Crime Gender Inequality and Crime Intersectionality Green Criminology, Queer Criminology, and Postmodernism Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Part II: Policing Chapter 5: The Nature and History of Policing Distinctions in American Policing Policing From a Critical Perspective Policing From a Critical Perspective Policing in America: The Early Years Federal Policing The 1960s and Their Aftermath The Homeland Security Era and Beyond Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Chapter 6: Modern Policing The Organization of Policing The Use of Force The Constitution and the Police: The Fourth Amendment Police Discretion Civil Forfeiture Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Chapter 7: Police Deviance Police Deviance in Context Overenthusiastic Policing Corruption The Causes of Police Deviance Addressing Police Deviance Defunding the Police? Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Part III: Courts And Trials Chapter 8: Courts The Function(s) of the Trial Adversarial Justice Plea Bargains The Courtroom Workgroup Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Notes Chapter 9: Criminal Trials The Process is the Punishment” Pretrial The Trial Jury Instructions, Deliberation, and Verdict Appeals and Appellate Courts The Supreme Court Politics and Constitutional Interpretation Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Part IV: Corrections and Special Topics Chapter 10: The Theory and History of Punishment Why We Punish The History of Punishment The Rise of the Prison Prison Labor and Indeterminate Sentencing Rehabilitation Mass Incarceration The Prison–Industrial Complex After Incarceration? Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Chapter 11: Prison Life Going to Prison The Prison Population Types of Prisons Life in Prison, the Inmate Code Women in Prison Trans People in Prison The Rights of the Incarcerated Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Notes Chapter 12: Alternatives to Prison The Collateral Effects of Incarceration Community Corrections Sex Offenses and Criminal Punishment Alternative Incarcerations Restorative Justice Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Chapter 13: The Death Penalty The History of the Death Penalty The Death Penalty and the Constitution Other Developments in the Death Penalty Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Notes Chapter 14: Juvenile Justice The Language of Juvenile Justice The History of Childhood Crime Juvenile Justice Juvenile Corrections Special Cases Chapter Summary Review/Discussion Questions Key Terms Notes Glossary References Index

Reviews

We are currently in an era where the complexities of the American criminal justice demand thoughtful analysis and informed action, Fichtelberg′s textbook rises to that occasion. -- Kelly L. Fisher

Author Information

Aaron Fichtelberg received his BA from UC San Diego, a Master’s Degree from DePaul University, an LLM from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and a PhD from Emory University. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware, where he has taught criminal law and criminal justice for 15 years. Criminal (In)Justice: A Critical Introduction is his fourth book. His earlier works are: Crime Without Borders: An Introduction to International Criminal Justice, Law at the Vanishing Point, and Hybrid Tribunals: A Comparative Examination. He has also published in journals such as The Journal of International Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Ethics, the Journal of Science and Engineering Ethics, and the Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology.  His work generally combines the study of criminal justice with a critical perspective provided by the humanities.

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