Selected cases and materials are likely to evoke the interest of students. Factual situations likely to spark emotional responses that must then filter through the requirements of the law and its underlying rationales. Authors have given preference to more recent cases and have provided a review of recent changes in criminal jurisprudence. Includes relevant significant discussions of substantive criminal law issues by the U.S. Supreme Court. Selected material reflecting the criminal law's impact on women, as reflected in the "battered wife" aspect of self-defense and contents of the crime of rape or sexual assault.