Drawing on a forthcoming symposium essay, The High Cost of Law School Casebooks, I have a general interest post over at Prawfsblawg that examines the ongoing appeal of high-priced ($250-300+) casebooks–despite the increasing availability of lower-cost and free alternatives.
Adapting the discussion for this audience, I asked Steven Chien for the results of his recent (non-scientific) survey of criminal procedure professors. Steve’s survey suggests the most adopted Criminal Procedure: Investigations books are high-priced offerings from the traditional academic publishers:
1) Dressler, Thomas, and Medwed (22%)
2) Kamisar, LaFave, Israel (13%)
3) Chemerinsky & Levenson (9%)
The remaining 56% of adoptions are scattered across about ten other prominent titles.
Steve’s survey accords with my sense of the landscape and confirms that traditional, high-priced casebooks continue to dominate. This is true even though there are at least three low-cost, self-published options.
1) Bellin & Gershowitz ($35 print or $10 ebook)
2) Henderson ($65 print)
3) Trachtenberg & Alexander ($63 print or free download)
Due to dynamics I explore at Prawfsblawg, a meaningful shift will only occur when a low-cost book becomes perceived as a standard or “safe” choice for new professors. It seems unlikely that authors of open-access/free books (a prominent alternative model) will be willing to put in the time and energy to get to that point, which could take as long as a decade. But I do think there is a viable path to “safe” status for a low-cost book that earns the author(s) a modest royalty. That’s the model Adam and I adopted for our book, while also striving to make the book as good or better than its high-priced competitors – a daunting task.
This includes all the bells and whistles. We send out review copies to any instructor who asks, along with a comprehensive teacher’s manual. There is a web site, available to all, with timely updates and other popular features. We plan to issue new editions of the book as necessary. Finally, those who adopt get access to Adam’s excellent teaching notes and become a valued member of #TeamCrimPro. I adapted this model from my self-published Evidence casebook, although adopting that one gets you on the slightly more prestigious #TeamEvidence.
The point is that few professors – just like authors in any medium – will be willing to put in this kind of effort over the long term (years or decades) without a financial incentive. And as the price of our book shows, that incentive is still consistent with a refreshingly low price. As I conclude in the essay, “Law school casebooks should not cost $300. But they also cannot (sustainably) be free.”
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