Understanding Criminal Law is designed to be taught in conjunction with any casebook. This comprehensive and clearly written Understanding treatise is frequently cited by scholars and courts in their analysis of substantive criminal law, and has been a popular source of assistance to criminal law students for the past quarter century. The topics covered are those most often raised in criminal law casebooks, and coverage of these subjects is meant to complement professors' classroom discussions. The text focuses on the basic elements of, and defenses to, all crimes; provides in-depth coverage of such crimes as homicide, rape, and theft; and covers other important topics covered in a criminal law course, such as accomplice and inchoate liability.