The size of this book - the result of striving both for breadth of coverage and depth of treatment - indicates the authors' purpose is not to provide a volume to be taught from cover to cover in a single one-term course on the subject but to present materials that afford a teacher maximum freedom to shape his or her own course. The materials divide naturally for the many schools that split criminal procedure into two offerings, police (i.e. investigatory) practices and the adversary process (i.e., from bail to post-conviction review). Chapters 1-11 cover investigatory practices and Chapters 12-29 (possibly supplemented by Chapter 1) cover the adversary process. In the main, the authors have followed a chronological approach in ordering the materials that appear in this book. Following the introductory materials, which include an overview of the criminal justice system and a general consideration of due process, the system is examined from arrest and search to post conviction review. The authors have occasionally departed from the chronological scheme when it seemed appropriate to do so. For example, the initial chapter on the right to counsel (Ch. 3) is included in the introductory part of the book as background for the confessions and lineups materials.
Some teachers may prefer to cover the various aspects of the right to counsel at one place rather than in two chapters that are far apart and an extensive index includes headings that should help one in pulling together the various materials that relate to any particular right or privilege. The index also has proven especially helpful to students (along with the cross-referencing in the Notes and Questions) in increasing their understanding of the interrelationship of various aspects of the process.
This volume includes significant developments up to January 1, 1999. Important developments thereafter will appear in annual supplements, which will also contain relevant federal court rules and statutory materials.