George P. Fletcher Bücher

Klaus Lüderssen, geboren 1932, ist emeritierter Professor für Strafrecht, Strafprozeßrecht, Rechtsphilosophie und Rechtssoziologie. Er ist Mitglied der Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität in Frankfurt.

Adam Gross, philosopher-cum-lawyer, teaches at an Ivy League law school in New York. Good looking, cultivated, and bohemian, he was once considered the rising star of his faculty, but that was a decade ago and times have changed. Doing the job he always wanted, shaping eager young minds and showing them what it takes to be a lawyer, Adam has to face the truth that his style is no longer what the students pay for -- and his Dean is getting worried about the rising number of complaints. It doesn't help that Adam is about to start sleeping with the Dean's wife. Faced with a struggle for survival, sandwiched between headstrong students and colleagues eager to see him cut down to size, Adam knows no other course than to keep teaching law as he believes it must be taught -- as a global, complex, and multi-faceted phenomenon in which American law is just one part of the picture. In a world in which the old certainties have been swept away, in which torture happens on our doorstep, and inequalities multiply, more than ever Adam wants his students to understand that they hold the key to a better, more just, future

In the United States, criminal justice varies significantly from state to state as local preferences influence the Modern Penal Code. Meanwhile, post-Communist countries in Eastern Europe are rapidly developing new criminal codes that reflect their national concerns, moving away from centralized Soviet policies. As these variations grow, the question arises: how do we understand the fundamental concepts of criminal law? Eminent legal scholar George Fletcher observes that criminal law is increasingly localized, with each jurisdiction defining punishable behavior in its own way. However, by stepping back from the specifics of criminal codes, Fletcher identifies an underlying unity among diverse systems of justice. He challenges common assumptions and uncovers a coherence that lies not in the surface rules but in the foundational debates shaping them. Fletcher outlines twelve key distinctions that guide the controversies present in all criminal justice systems, dedicating a chapter to each concept. This framework reveals the deep structure of criminal law, helping students grasp universal principles while appreciating local variations. This accessible exploration of the unity within diverse criminal justice systems will engage and inform students, scholars, and legal practitioners seeking a deeper understanding of the law they navigate.