[Hac-announce] November Book Discussion: "The Collapse of American Criminal Justice" by William J. Stuntz

[Kevin Gough or Paula Jones]

Our book for November is The Collapse of American Criminal Justice by the late Harvard legal scholar William J. Stuntz.(http://today.law.harvard.edu/william-stuntz-1958-2011-an-examined-life-of-thoughtfulness-and-grace/?redirect=1).
The discussion will take place Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 2 pm in the library of the Unitarian Society of New Haven at 700 Hartford Turnpike, Hamden.    








                           

>From the book's inside flap:
The rule of law has vanished in America's criminal justice system. Prosecutors now decide whom to punish and how severely. Almost no one accused of a crime will ever face a jury. Inconsistent policing, rampant plea bargaining, over-crowded courtrooms, and ever more draconian sentencing have produced a gigantic prison population, with black citizens the primary defendants and victims of crime. In this passionately argued book, the leading criminal law scholar of his generation looks to history for the roots of these problems - and for their solutions.

...Digging into [the history and structure of American crimes] and the strategies that attempted to control them, Stuntz reveals the costs of abandoning local democratic control...[and centralizing the system], with state legislators and federal judges given increasing power.

>From Louis H. Pollak, Senior U.S. District Court Judge: "The Collapse of American Criminal Justice is a searching - and profoundly disturbing - examination of American criminal law in action. It shows that our main achievement has been the incarceration of millions, while giving short shrift to fairness and equality. This is a masterful work."

>From David Alan Sklansky, Boalt Hall School of Law: "Stuntz argues that much of what we think about American criminal justice is wrong. The system is neither too lenient nor too punitive, but too prone to both extremes, and the extremism is caused by too little democracy. Sweeping, learned, and bracingly original, Stuntz's crowning achievement is a wonderful book."


The book is readily available in numerous libraries around the state.                         

              
              
Refreshments will be served. 




















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