Americans are enamored with the criminal courts. This fascination is most likely the direct consequence of exciting and highly publicized criminal trials. However, despite the public's interest, most scholarly books published on criminal courts give only cursory attention to the most important and controversial issues facing America's criminal court system. Criminal Courts for the 21st Century, 3/e is the exception. This comprehensive book of readings consists of 20 articles published in scholarly journals. Only interesting and well-written articles, which provide a reader with information on the most important and contentious issues relating to criminal courts, were selected for inclusion in this book. Articles furnishing broad coverage of a topic, for the most part, were selected over statistical pieces that analyzed specific hypotheses or questions. It was our intention to gear this reader to students with an interest in the criminal courts, including those with a limited background in statistics. Criminal Courts for the 21st Century, 3/e is intended for criminal justice students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate college courses on criminal courts, judicial process, and judicial decision-making. Because of its extensive coverage of the most contemporary issues confronting the criminal courts, this book is appropriate as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to introductory textbooks in this area. It is also suitable for personal reference by college professors and instructors, librarians, judges, lawyers, policymakers, and others with an interest in the criminal court process.