--- title: Criminal Law Basics description: This topic covers the fundamental principles of criminal liability, defenses, and the criminal justice process. Learners will understand how crimes are defined, the standards of proof required, and the constitutional protections of the accused. category: business-entrepreneurship subcategory: legal-career-skills difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/criminal-law-basics --- # Criminal Law Basics This topic covers the fundamental principles of criminal liability, defenses, and the criminal justice process. Learners will understand how crimes are defined, the standards of proof required, and the constitutional protections of the accused. ## Available Resources 1 Books • 1 Courses • 6 Websites ## Websites ### 1. Cornell Legal Information Institute - Criminal Law Cornell Law School's free Wex encyclopedia entry on US criminal law, covering federal and state codes, the Model Penal Code, the elements of a crime, offense classifications, accomplice liability, defenses and sentencing. Useful for grounding core terminology before tackling cases. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/criminal_law **Tags:** criminal-law, elements-of-crime, mens-rea, criminal-defenses, model-penal-code, legal-terminology ### 2. Introduction to US Criminal Law (LibreTexts Open Textbook) Fourteen-chapter openly licensed textbook on US criminal law, moving from the structure of the legal system and constitutional protections through the elements of a crime, defenses, parties to crime, inchoate offenses, homicide, and crimes against property and the public. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://biz.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Criminal_Law/Introduction_to_Criminal_Law **Tags:** criminal-law, elements-of-crime, criminal-defenses, inchoate-offenses, homicide, open-textbook ### 3. Criminal Law (Harvard Open Casebook, Jeannie Suk Gersen) **Author:** Jeannie Suk Gersen Harvard Law School 1L criminal law course materials published openly: full-text edited cases organized into legality, actus reus, mens rea, strict liability, homicide, causation, attempt, complicity and defenses, alongside Model Penal Code provisions and state homicide statutes. **Difficulty:** Advanced | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://opencasebook.org/casebooks/411-criminal-law-spring-2017/ **Tags:** criminal-law, casebook, mens-rea, actus-reus, homicide, model-penal-code ### 4. law.cornell.edu Cornell Law’s Legal Information Institute (LII) offers free, searchable primary legal materials—such as Supreme Court opinions, the U.S. Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, and the Constitution—and practical legal-research guides and tutorials for students and researchers. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://law.cornell.edu **Tags:** websites, law-legal-studies, legal-career ### 5. nolo.com Nolo is a legal information site offering plain-language articles, guides, and affordable do-it-yourself legal forms for individuals and small businesses. It covers business law topics such as forming an LLC, contracts, employment, and intellectual property, with templates, checklists, and state-specific guidance. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://nolo.com **Tags:** websites, business-entrepreneurship, business-fundamentals ### 6. oyez.org Oyez is a multimedia archive of U.S. Supreme Court cases. It provides official audio of opinions, full text opinions, case summaries, transcripts, and background on justices and landmark rulings—an essential resource for learning constitutional law basics. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://oyez.org **Tags:** websites, law-legal-studies, legal-literacy ## Courses ### 1. An Introduction to American Law (Penn Carey Law) **Author:** Stephen Morse, Anita Allen, and Penn Carey Law faculty Six-module survey of American law from University of Pennsylvania Carey Law faculty. The criminal law module, taught by Stephen Morse, covers why the state punishes, what it must prove to convict, and the major defenses. Free to audit. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/american-law **Tags:** american-law, criminal-law, legal-system, criminal-defenses, law-school ## Books ### 1. Understanding Criminal Law (Dressler, 9th Edition) **Author:** Joshua Dressler Hornbook treatise covering actus reus, mens rea, causation, homicide grading, inchoate and accomplice liability, and defenses, stating the common law rule first and flagging Model Penal Code differences throughout. Designed as a companion to any criminal law casebook. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1531021727?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** criminal-law, mens-rea, actus-reus, accomplice-liability, model-penal-code, hornbook --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/criminal-law-basics