Race, Crime, and the LawAn "admirable, courageous, and meticulously fair and honest book” (New York Times Book Review) in which “one of our most important and perceptive writers on race" (The Washington Post) takes on a highly complex issue in a way that no one has before. "This book should be a standard for all law students."—Boston Globe In this groundbreaking, powerfully reasoned, lucid work that is certain to provoke controversy, Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy takes on a highly complex issue in a way that no one has before. Kennedy uncovers the long-standing failure of the justice system to protect blacks from criminals, probing allegations that blacks are victimized on a widespread basis by racially discriminatory prosecutions and punishments, but he also engages the debate over the wisdom and legality of using racial criteria in jury selection. He analyzes the responses of the legal system to accusations that appeals to racial prejudice have rendered trials unfair, and examines the idea that, under certain circumstances, members of one race are statistically more likely to be involved in crime than members of another. |
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abuse affirmative African-American Alabama all-white jury allegations Alschuler American Baldus study Batson black defendants black jurors Butler capital punishment Carolina charged Civil Rights claim color constitutional conviction County Court of Appeals crack cocaine crack-powder crime criminal justice criminal law death penalty death sentence decision defendant's defense counsel denied discriminatory peremptory challenges dissenting drug Equal Protection evidence exclude F.Supp Georgia grand jury Ibid judicial jurors Jury Nullification jury selection jury service killed law enforcement Law Journal lynching Marshall McCleskey ment misconduct Mississippi murder Negro O.J. Simpson officials peremptory challenges person police officers political prison prohibited prosecution prosecutor prospective jurors race racial bias racial discrimination racial prejudice racially discriminatory peremptory racially motivated racially selective Racism rape reason Rodney King ruling slave Slavery South South Carolina Southern statistics statute Supreme Court tion trial judge U.S. Supreme Court United victim violation violence voir dire white woman William York