The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law
Sf writer Cory Doctorow says lawyer-cartoonist Burney’s guide to the bedrock of his trade is a “great gift” to aspiring crooks and prospective law students. Since yakking about high-profile murders, rapes, heists, and so forth is a major pastime, plenty of law-abiding nonstudents should welcome it, too, especially because Burney amuses while informing. For instance, the chapter “It Was Either Him or Me” opens up a Wild West scenario to exemplify when you can and can’t use deadly force, under what circumstances throwing the first punch is justified, when you can stand your ground and when you should retreat, and other matters of self-defense. Other chapters on the purposes of punishment; what constitutes guilt; solicitation, accomplice liability, and conspiracy (a particularly engaging presentation); entrapment; and other topics extrapolate more than one scenario, and it is always illustrated in a way to genuinely illuminate the subject matter, not divert us from it. In short, Burney’s rudimentary cartooning ideally complements his crystal-clear explanations of what is and isn’t criminal in the eyes of the law. --Ray Olson