According to the concept of in forma pauperis, a financially disabled person does not have to pay court fees in a civil suit. Shield laws protect journalists from being forced to disclose their sources but the term is also used to statutes intended to protect victims of sexual assaults from having their sexual history revealed in court. Here hundreds of definitions of terms related to criminal justice and criminology rub shoulders with descriptions of over 100 cases decided in federal courts, including the US Supreme Court. Many address issues of criminal procedure while others address the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. While designed for use by undergraduate and graduate students in law or criminology, this is also accessible enough to prove useful to interested general readers. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)