How to Write a Criminal Law Paper
Writing a criminal law paper is a challenging, but interested, academic assignment. This task is not limited to students in law school. People taking courses in criminology, criminal justice or political science may find themselves assigned to write papers on criminal law topics. Like any academic work, a criminal law paper requires in-depth research, thoughtful analysis, and clear writing that builds an argument from the general to the specific.
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Instructions
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Read material that will familiarize you with the topic of your paper. A textbook on criminal law or constitutional law will give you a general overview of the issue or area of the law you will focus on in your paper. These texts also will help guide your research by pointing you to key court decisions that will help illustrate your point. They may also point you to other books, law review articles, and other sources. The more you read and cite, the better your criminal law paper will be.
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Research your topic in depth. If your library has a law section, you can obtain the full text of important court decisions from the volumes there or from databases such as LexisNexis. In addition, websites such as AltLaw offer the full texts of U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit court decisions at no charge. For district or state court decisions, you will need to use LexisNexis, a legal database available at most libraries. Remember to choose statutes and court decisions that illustrate the development of court rulings in the area you're studying. A paper on the legal rights of prison inmates, for example, should trace the development of court thinking in this area from a position of distance, in which courts deferred to the judgment of correctional officials, to a more active position in protecting those rights.
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Read the complete texts of the court decisions you will include in your criminal law paper. Court rulings are long and complex, containing much legal jargon. Because you will need to discuss these rulings in your paper, you may find it helpful to write brief summaries of the decisions. They can be as short as 1-2 pages and will help you focus on the key issues discussed in the court rulings.
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Write the first draft of your criminal law paper, being sure to cite the sources you use. Law papers have their own citation style, known as the Bluebook. Your library may have a copy of the Bluebook that you can consult. In addition, many websites provide guides to legal citation style.
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Edit and revise the first draft of your paper. As an anonymous writer once observed, "There is no writing; there is only rewriting." Make sure your paper states a central point and that you structure your argument persuasively.
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Tips & Warnings
Pay close attention to proper citation of your sources. Legal citation style can be difficult, especially if you haven't used it before. Be sure to cite at least the minimum number of court cases required in your assignment.
