This book is designed to teach the so-called "bail to jail" facets of criminal procedure. It does not deal with the constitutional limitations established for searches and seizures by the fourth amendment or interrogations by the fifth amendment, nor in any depth with the right to counsel by the sixth amendment. The focus is on those important, and often ignored, stages of the criminal process that start with the decision to pursue criminal charges and end with various post-conviction options.

The book is arranged in a roughly chronological way that traces a criminal defendant's journey through the criminal justice system. It includes important federal and state cases, textual materials (including empirical studies), applicable rules of procedure, and problems.

Throughout, this book discusses a number of practical issues. Since most criminal cases end with a guilty plea, the impact of various stages on the guilty plea is noted throughout the book. Other themes are the role of motion practice in criminal cases and the recognition of some of the ethical issues that face both prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers.

The authors intersperse problems throughout the book to assist students in understanding and applying the concepts discussed in the materials.

The book is supplemented annually, and a Teacher's Manual is available to professors.

This book also is available in a three-hole punched, alternative loose-leaf version printed on 8.5 x 11 inch paper with wider margins and with the same pagination as the hardbound book.