"This comprehensive text provides vital background information and a coherent structure for understanding the law. Focusing on the substantive aspects of the criminal justice system and the trial context, this casebook covers the adversary system, how the elements of crime are proven, defences and sentencing practices. Features include a concentration on the main sources (including the Criminal Code), key judicial decisions and critical review, judicious editing of the increasingly lengthy reasons for judgment in major cases, an extended introductory section and problems based on actual decisions or designed to provoke thought on current social issues."--Pub. desc.