Do you know what happens when you are accused of a crime? How you are charged? How plea bargains work? What happens in court? Anyone who needs answers to these questions -- people accused of a crime, victims of crime, their families and friends, witnesses and those who want to know how the system works -- can turn to a plain-English legal book for the information they need. With The Criminal Law Handbook, you can learn exactly what goes on in a criminal case. The easy-to-follow, question-and-answer format covers: arrests booking preliminary hearings charges bail courts arraignment search and seizure defenses evidence trials plea bargains sentencing juveniles "crimespeak," the language commonly used in criminal statutes and much more The 5th edition provides the latest in the law and court findings. Find out if police can use high-tech devices to search for evidence in your house, whether school officials can search students without warrants, and how the post-9/11 Patriot Act expands the power of federal agents.

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