Instructor Manual: Neubauer & Fradella, America’s Courts and The Criminal Justice System, 14e, 2026, 9780357763285; Chapter 1: Crime,
Law, Courts, and Controversy
Instructor Manual
Neubauer & Fradella, America’s Courts and The Criminal Justice System, 14e,
2026, 9780357763285; Chapter 1: Crime, Law, Courts, and Controversy
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter......................................................................2
Chapter Objectives........................................................................................................2
What’s New in This Chapter........................................................................................3
Chapter Outline.............................................................................................................3
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 1
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Neubauer & Fradella, America’s Courts and The Criminal Justice System, 14e, 2026, 9780357763285; Chapter 1: Crime,
Law, Courts, and Controversy
PURPOSE AND PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHAPTER
The purpose of this chapter is to give students a realistic overview of the criminal court system within the
United States. This includes an exploration of the sources of law, the structure and roles within the courts,
and the various actors involved in the courthouse, such as prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges,
defendants, and victims. The chapter also outlines the key stages of criminal legal processes, from arrest
to appeal, and explores into the foundational elements of criminal law, including the adversary system,
the rights of the accused, and introduction to criminal law. Additionally, it examines the tensions within
the system, the media’s influence on public perceptions, and the differences between law on the books
and law in action..
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
LO1 Describe how the courts are related to the other components of the criminal legal system.
LO2 Discuss the major types of courts found in the United States.
LO3 Identify the most important actors in the courthouse.
LO4 List the steps in the typical felony prosecution.
LO5 List the four key elements defining law.
LO6 Identify the three key characteristics of common law.
LO7 Explain the importance of the adversary system.
LO8 Name the four amendments of the Bill of Rights that deal specifically with criminal procedure.
LO9 Identify the major elements of a crime.
LO10 Identify some of the most important legal defenses in U.S. law.
LO11 Explain how “law in action” perspective complements a “law on the books” approach to
studying the criminal courts.
LO12 Distinguish between the crime control model of criminal justice and the due process model of
criminal justice.
[return to top]
WHAT’S NEW IN THIS CHAPTER
The following elements are improvements in this chapter from the previous edition:
New Chapter opening feature on hate-crime motivated mass shootings
New Table on Bias-Motivation/Hate Crime Incidents
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 2
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Neubauer & Fradella, America’s Courts and The Criminal Justice System, 14e, 2026, 9780357763285; Chapter 1: Crime,
Law, Courts, and Controversy
New key term added to glossary for hate crimes
New “Courts, Controversy, & Racial Justice” box on George Floyd’s murder
Exhibit 1.2 converted to a table and updated
[return to top]
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The following outline organizes activities (including any existing discussion questions in PowerPoints or
other supplements) and assessments by chapter (and therefore by topic), so that you can see how all the
content relates to the topics covered in the text.
I. Courts and Crime (PPT Slides 4-8)
a. The examples of mass shootings provided in the introduction receive a tremendous
amount of press coverage. While extremely tragic, these cases are atypical in comparison
to the majority of crime in the United States
i. Murder and nonnegligent homicide cases account for less than 1/10 of 1 percent
of all criminal arrests (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2015).
ii. While the majority of murders are committed using firearms, homicides that
occur as a result of mass shootings are rare.
iii. Perpetrators of mass shootings that survive the incident, are typically tired in
both state and federal court. This is rare for most crimes.
(1) Often the federal case is due to the mass shooting being hate-motivated
offense.
(a) Hate crimes are criminal offenses that are motivated in part or
whole by the offenders bias against a race, religion, disability,
sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.
b. Media portrayal of crime in the news and popular culture also affects the public’s
understanding of crime and the criminal judicial process.
i. The CSI effect may cause jurors to have heightened expectations of forensic
evidence in cases where it is not typically available or used.
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 3
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Neubauer & Fradella, America’s Courts and The Criminal Justice System, 14e, 2026, 9780357763285; Chapter 1: Crime,
Law, Courts, and Controversy
II. Courts and the Criminal Legal System (01.01, PPT Slides 9-12)
a. Fighting crime is a major societal activity.
i. Every year local, state, and federal governments spend approximately $305
billion on the criminal and civil justice system in the United States.
(1) About half of this money is spent on policing, about 29% on corrections,
and the smallest portion is left to operate the court system.
ii. A substantial number of people are also employed in the private sector in
positions related to dealing with crime.
iii. The public agencies involved in implementing crime policy, i.e., police, courts,
and corrections, are referred to as the criminal justice system.
iv. The major components of the criminal justice system do not make up a smoothly
functioning and internally consistent organization.
v. The criminal justice system is both interdependent and fragmented.
b. An Interdependent Criminal Justice System
i. Police, courts, and corrections are separate government institutions with different
goals, histories and operating procedures.
ii. Viewing the various components of criminal justice as a total system highlights
the fact that these different agencies are interdependent and interrelated.
iii. The courts play a pivotal role within the criminal justice system. Many formal
actions pertaining to suspects, defendants, and convicts involve the courts, and
the decisions that the courts make have important consequences for other
components of the criminal justice system.
iv. The operations of law enforcement and corrections also have a major impact on
the judiciary.
v. The system approach dominates most contemporary thinking about criminal
justice.
c. A Fragmented Criminal Justice Nonsystem
i. While the system approach is the most commonly applied, not everyone is
convinced of the utility of this approach. Some people point to a non-system of
criminal justice.
ii. What is most salient in the non-system is that each component of the criminal
justice system is fragmented.
(1) There are roughly 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States,
consisting of approximately 94 federal agencies and 17,541 state, county,
local, and tribal law enforcement agencies each with its own traditions,
policies, and practices. The levels of cooperation or antagonism among
and between these agencies varies considerably.
(2) The corrections component includes nearly 1,700 federal, state, tribal,
and private correctional facilities, along with thousands of local jails.
Corrections also encompasses probation, parole, drug treatment, and
halfway houses.
(3) The court system is comprised of a variety of different actors, employed
by separate government agencies with differing goals.
iii. The fragmentation within the three components of the non-system of criminal
justice is further complicated by the decentralization of government.
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 4
accessible website, in whole or in part.
Law, Courts, and Controversy
Instructor Manual
Neubauer & Fradella, America’s Courts and The Criminal Justice System, 14e,
2026, 9780357763285; Chapter 1: Crime, Law, Courts, and Controversy
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter......................................................................2
Chapter Objectives........................................................................................................2
What’s New in This Chapter........................................................................................3
Chapter Outline.............................................................................................................3
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 1
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Neubauer & Fradella, America’s Courts and The Criminal Justice System, 14e, 2026, 9780357763285; Chapter 1: Crime,
Law, Courts, and Controversy
PURPOSE AND PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHAPTER
The purpose of this chapter is to give students a realistic overview of the criminal court system within the
United States. This includes an exploration of the sources of law, the structure and roles within the courts,
and the various actors involved in the courthouse, such as prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges,
defendants, and victims. The chapter also outlines the key stages of criminal legal processes, from arrest
to appeal, and explores into the foundational elements of criminal law, including the adversary system,
the rights of the accused, and introduction to criminal law. Additionally, it examines the tensions within
the system, the media’s influence on public perceptions, and the differences between law on the books
and law in action..
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
The following objectives are addressed in this chapter:
LO1 Describe how the courts are related to the other components of the criminal legal system.
LO2 Discuss the major types of courts found in the United States.
LO3 Identify the most important actors in the courthouse.
LO4 List the steps in the typical felony prosecution.
LO5 List the four key elements defining law.
LO6 Identify the three key characteristics of common law.
LO7 Explain the importance of the adversary system.
LO8 Name the four amendments of the Bill of Rights that deal specifically with criminal procedure.
LO9 Identify the major elements of a crime.
LO10 Identify some of the most important legal defenses in U.S. law.
LO11 Explain how “law in action” perspective complements a “law on the books” approach to
studying the criminal courts.
LO12 Distinguish between the crime control model of criminal justice and the due process model of
criminal justice.
[return to top]
WHAT’S NEW IN THIS CHAPTER
The following elements are improvements in this chapter from the previous edition:
New Chapter opening feature on hate-crime motivated mass shootings
New Table on Bias-Motivation/Hate Crime Incidents
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 2
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Neubauer & Fradella, America’s Courts and The Criminal Justice System, 14e, 2026, 9780357763285; Chapter 1: Crime,
Law, Courts, and Controversy
New key term added to glossary for hate crimes
New “Courts, Controversy, & Racial Justice” box on George Floyd’s murder
Exhibit 1.2 converted to a table and updated
[return to top]
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The following outline organizes activities (including any existing discussion questions in PowerPoints or
other supplements) and assessments by chapter (and therefore by topic), so that you can see how all the
content relates to the topics covered in the text.
I. Courts and Crime (PPT Slides 4-8)
a. The examples of mass shootings provided in the introduction receive a tremendous
amount of press coverage. While extremely tragic, these cases are atypical in comparison
to the majority of crime in the United States
i. Murder and nonnegligent homicide cases account for less than 1/10 of 1 percent
of all criminal arrests (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2015).
ii. While the majority of murders are committed using firearms, homicides that
occur as a result of mass shootings are rare.
iii. Perpetrators of mass shootings that survive the incident, are typically tired in
both state and federal court. This is rare for most crimes.
(1) Often the federal case is due to the mass shooting being hate-motivated
offense.
(a) Hate crimes are criminal offenses that are motivated in part or
whole by the offenders bias against a race, religion, disability,
sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.
b. Media portrayal of crime in the news and popular culture also affects the public’s
understanding of crime and the criminal judicial process.
i. The CSI effect may cause jurors to have heightened expectations of forensic
evidence in cases where it is not typically available or used.
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 3
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Neubauer & Fradella, America’s Courts and The Criminal Justice System, 14e, 2026, 9780357763285; Chapter 1: Crime,
Law, Courts, and Controversy
II. Courts and the Criminal Legal System (01.01, PPT Slides 9-12)
a. Fighting crime is a major societal activity.
i. Every year local, state, and federal governments spend approximately $305
billion on the criminal and civil justice system in the United States.
(1) About half of this money is spent on policing, about 29% on corrections,
and the smallest portion is left to operate the court system.
ii. A substantial number of people are also employed in the private sector in
positions related to dealing with crime.
iii. The public agencies involved in implementing crime policy, i.e., police, courts,
and corrections, are referred to as the criminal justice system.
iv. The major components of the criminal justice system do not make up a smoothly
functioning and internally consistent organization.
v. The criminal justice system is both interdependent and fragmented.
b. An Interdependent Criminal Justice System
i. Police, courts, and corrections are separate government institutions with different
goals, histories and operating procedures.
ii. Viewing the various components of criminal justice as a total system highlights
the fact that these different agencies are interdependent and interrelated.
iii. The courts play a pivotal role within the criminal justice system. Many formal
actions pertaining to suspects, defendants, and convicts involve the courts, and
the decisions that the courts make have important consequences for other
components of the criminal justice system.
iv. The operations of law enforcement and corrections also have a major impact on
the judiciary.
v. The system approach dominates most contemporary thinking about criminal
justice.
c. A Fragmented Criminal Justice Nonsystem
i. While the system approach is the most commonly applied, not everyone is
convinced of the utility of this approach. Some people point to a non-system of
criminal justice.
ii. What is most salient in the non-system is that each component of the criminal
justice system is fragmented.
(1) There are roughly 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States,
consisting of approximately 94 federal agencies and 17,541 state, county,
local, and tribal law enforcement agencies each with its own traditions,
policies, and practices. The levels of cooperation or antagonism among
and between these agencies varies considerably.
(2) The corrections component includes nearly 1,700 federal, state, tribal,
and private correctional facilities, along with thousands of local jails.
Corrections also encompasses probation, parole, drug treatment, and
halfway houses.
(3) The court system is comprised of a variety of different actors, employed
by separate government agencies with differing goals.
iii. The fragmentation within the three components of the non-system of criminal
justice is further complicated by the decentralization of government.
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 4
accessible website, in whole or in part.
