[Orin Kerr, December 22, 2007 at 8:06pm] Trackbacks
New Criminal Procedure Treatise Published Just In Time For Christmas:
Looking for a last-minute Christmas gift? I recommend the new third edition of LaFave, Israel, King & Kerr's Criminal Procedure treatise, in 7 exciting volumes, just published as of Thursday and now shipping. The Table of Contents is here. At only $689.50, with free shipping, feel free to order 5, 10, or even 50 sets to make sure no one on your Christmas list is left out!
Brooks Lyman (mail):
Surely you jest? I knew that lawyers were overpaid, but....
12.22.2007 8:52pm
taney71:
Law professors need to feed the family but at 689.50 a set I hope that supports the extended portion as well.
12.22.2007 9:09pm
John Jenkins (mail):
When you consider the sheer volume of effort that goes into publishing a treatise, and the vast amount of time it saves for a practicioner to have one that can point him in the right direction, $700.00 is a bargain. That does not include the periodic updates, though.

I worked on a payment systems treatise once, just an annual update, for one of my professors, and that was the most time intensive research I've done before or since.
12.22.2007 9:22pm
Apodaca:
Finished it, eh? I think you owe yourself a beer.
12.22.2007 9:24pm
Brooks Lyman (mail):
I've no doubt that the price is a bargain, but buying a set for each person on your gift list - "5, 10 or even 50 sets" - is a bit much for most people - perhaps even most lawyers....
12.22.2007 10:56pm
Sean M:
$700, hmm? That's what, ten minutes of Lexis research time?
12.22.2007 11:15pm
OrinKerr:
Brooks,

Um, yes, it was a joke.
12.22.2007 11:26pm
andy (mail) (www):
Do law profs get a budget to fill their personal library, or must they rely on hand me downs and the like?
12.22.2007 11:29pm
David M. Nieporent (www):
If it had been 8 volumes, that could have been one for each night of Chanukah.
12.23.2007 12:04am
Dave N (mail):
Two things struck me:

First, the fine folks at Thomson-West do not have a biography of our esteemed host. I hope that oversight is quickly changed.

Second, I noticed that while the other authors had a period after their middle initials, OK's was listed as "Orin S Kerr". Is that a typo on Thomson-West's part or does Professor Kerr share the same middle name as our 33rd President?
12.23.2007 12:10am
OrinKerr:
Dave N,

I am glad to see your priorities are in the right place! Just a typo, though, and I believe a bio is forthcoming.
12.23.2007 12:16am
Mr. Liberal:
I do wonder if Thomson-West is charging a profit-maximizing price or whether they are overcharging.

Surely, many people like myself would consider buying such books, but not at that price. Especially when you factor in the cost of updates. Then again, perhaps I am in the minority in being able and willing to go to a law library rather than spending large amounts of money assembling my own library.

Query: If they are charging too high of a price, why don't other competitors enter the market? Surely, the marginal cost of selling an additional set of books is much less than the price charged. Are the fixed costs associated with creating such volumes in the first place so high as to discourage the entrance of competitors?
12.23.2007 4:20am
JosephSlater (mail):
David M. Nieporent wins the thread.

And Orin, a "joke"? Now what am I going to do with those 50 sets I bought for my wife?

Seriously, congrats on finishing.
12.23.2007 12:25pm
David M. Nieporent (www):
David M. Nieporent wins the thread.
Woohoo! What's my prize?


(Yes, second prize is two copies of the treatise.)
12.23.2007 1:19pm
tdsj:
first order of business of the new year: submit a request to use my discretionary funds to buy the whole set. Probably they'll say no, but I have nothing to lose.
12.23.2007 7:56pm