The Handy Law Answer Book -- David L. Hudson, Jr.

A long time ago, this book might have been titled Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Law but were Afraid to Ask. It's very thorough, it's conveniently arranged, and it's written in language that non-lawyers will find easy to understand. When I started going through it, I realized that it has uses I hadn't anticipated. Crime writers might want to consider it for their libraries. There's a quite useful and readable section on "Criminal Procedures," for example.

But that's not all, since crime novels are likely to touch on lots of other legal problems, most of which are outlined in this book. Invasion of privacy? Covered. The court system? Covered. Adoptions? Sure. You name it, and it's likely to be here.

There's also a history of the Constitution (which is reprinted in an appendix), a handy list of on-line resources (good stuff, for sure), and a short glossary. If you need a legal reference book or if you're just curious about the law, this is certainly a book to check out.