Virginia's Criminal Justice System

Résumé du livre

With the help of experts on a range of topics, Virginia's Criminal Justice System serves as a comprehensive introduction to the field as filtered through a specific state's experience.

Covering a slew of topics from governance to institutions to lived experience, this contributor-authored book is written such that every chapter is a different entry point for readers both within and beyond the intended primary audience of undergraduate and graduate students studying law and justice administration. First, a history of the Commonwealth of Virginia and its criminal justice system is covered. Then comes the state's constitution and its framing of crimes and offenses. The two concluding chapters of Part I involve policing in general, as well as specialized units, before turning to an exploration of courts and corrections. In Part II of the book, perspectives outside the most typical workflows of the criminal justice system are highlighted. Decarceration is covered, then juvenile justice, followed by domestic violence and victims' rights. Next, a chapter is dedicated to wrongful convictions, and then technology use. The final two chapters cover disability and neurodiversity and how they relate to the justice system and law enforcement.

Strengthened by primary source analysis, interviewing, original survey work, and, of course, scholarly and other reputable references, Virginia's Criminal Justice System can be a jumping-off point or a specialists' handbook, depending on whether one is viewing Virginia as representative or unique: the Commonwealth is complex enough to be both.