"Any lawyer who deals within the Black community needs to read it."
"--New York Amsterdam News"

"Within Harris's reasoned, cogent analysis lurks a legal strategy tethered to the nation's tattered and perennial traditions of white supremacy, which aims to acknowledge it, use it to explain its devastating effects on the black psyche, and provide a legal tool for some degree of amelioration. Ultimately, Black Rage Confronts the Law is more about U. S. power relations than law.
Therefore, it will be damned.
Therefore, it will be praised.
Therefore, it should be read."
"--Mumia Abu-Jamal, Author of Live from Death Row"

On a deeper and more profound level [this book] illustrates the degree to which social and economic hardship and deprivation can justify human misconduct.
"--Library Journal"

Paul Harris made an impact just two years out of law school with his innovative black rage' defense. Harris convinced the jury that, in America, unemployment for a proud and talented black man can cause . . . a kind of temporary insanity. The theory not only gained Harris's client an acquittal, it left the man's integrity intact. "--California Lawyer"

In 1971, Paul Harris pioneered the modern version of the black rage defense when he successfully defended a young black man charged with armed bank robbery. Dubbed one of the most novel criminal defenses in American history by Vanity Fair, the black rage defense is enormously controversial, frequently dismissed as irresponsible, nothing less than a harbinger of anarchy. Consider the firestorm of protest that resulted when the defense for Colin Ferguson, the gunman who murdered numerous passengers on a New York commutertrain, claimed it was considering a black rage defense.

In this thought-provoking book, Harris traces the origins of the black rage defense back through American history, recreating numerous dramatic trials along the way. For example, he recounts in vivid detail how Clarence Darrow, defense attorney in the famous Scopes Monkey trial, first introduced the notion of an environmental hardship defense in 1925 while defending a black family who shot into a drunken white mob that had encircled their home.

Emphasizing that the black rage defense must be enlisted responsibly and selectively, Harris skillfully distinguishes between applying an environmental defense and simply blaming society, in the abstract, for individual crimes. If Ferguson had invoked such a defense, in Harris's words, it would have sent a superficial, wrong-headed, blame-everything-on-racism message. Careful not to succumb to easy generalizations, Harris also addresses the possibilities of a white rage defense and the more recent phenomenon of cultural defenses. He illustrates how a person's environment can, and does, affect his or her life and actions, how even the most rational person can become criminally deranged, when bludgeoned into hopelessness by exploitation, racism, and relentless poverty.

1. Bringing together chapters co-authored by academics and practitioners, this book will find a market as a supplementary book for students and a book on best-practice for professionals. Each chapter has a set structure to ensure consistency. 2. This book will be particularly useful for universities offering qualifications for trainee probation officers in the UK, as well as Criminology students taking courses on criminal justice, penology, rehabilitation and working with offenders.

In some parts of the world, race is a key social variable in criminological debates on crime and criminal justice practice. Yet, little has been studied regarding the issues of race and crime internationally. This collection fills that gap, drawing upon perspectives from 13 countries across 4 continents to provide a comparative assessment on the influence of human variations on crime discourses, offending, experiences of criminal victimization, and criminal justice responses in differing societies.
Covering Europe, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, Canada, and the United States, and drawing on an international line-up of scholars, this book examines the similarities and differences of race, crime and criminal justice in international perspective.

This book examines the concept of witness protection which is still at an early developmental stage in several African countries including Nigeria, from a legal and institutional perspective. Recent developments in Nigeria highlight the need to clarify legal and conceptual issues within the existing legal framework for protecting witnesses. Using the Nigerian case study, the book illustrates some obscurities inherent in the concept of witness protection. These are highlighted around five critical areas: the definition of witness protection; the scope of beneficiaries requiring protection; the nature of crimes necessitating protection; the nature of protective measures; and the administrative control of witness protection. Specifically, this book draws from the existing literature and practices of witness protection and adopts two distinct perspectives: the criminal justice perspectives and human rights perspectives as heuristic tools for analysing the concept and to separate the disparate influences that shape how it is construed. These distinctions are utilised throughout the book as an integrated way of conceptualising the concept of witness protection. By discussing the practice of witness protection within the Nigerian context, the book contributes to African conversations on the topic of witness protection. The clarifications made in this book are utilised in making normative proposals for developing a legal framework for witness protection in Nigeria. They are also useful for other African countries interested in developing a witness protection framework as part of criminal justice reform. This book will serve as a reference point for legal scholars, researchers, academics, (postgraduate) students and policy makers interested in the concept of witness protection. It would also be useful for courses 'concerned with comparative criminology where there is an interest in developments in the Global South.'

This cutting-edge primer is ideal for the family physician/generalist facing challenges in clinical practice with the treatment of drug court patients. The authors share their extensive knowledge in treatment of addiction and withdrawal, treatment for patients with dual diagnoses of mental illness and addiction, and treatment of diseases associated with drug use, such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV infection. Unparalleled discussions of the drug court system and the medical problems of drug court patients are presented.

With concise yet comprehensive chapters, readers find essential coverage of drug testing, drug test collections and reports, and common scams for falsifying drug tests. Other topics include medical educational services that physicians can provide for attorneys, judges, counselors, probation officers, and clients; challenges of treatment physicians encounter; and medical interventions. The authors share their personal teaching file of cases from the Adult Drug Court in California to draw a detailed picture of how medical care fits within the overall therapeutic plan of drug courts.

The Criminal Justice System: An Introduction, Fifth Edition incorporates the latest developments in the field while retaining the basic organization of previous editions which made this textbook so popular. Exploring the police, prosecutors, courts, and corrections, including probation and parole, the book moves chronologically through the different agencies in the order in which they are usually encountered when an individual goes through the criminal justice process. New in the Fifth Edition: A complete updating of charts and statistics to reflect the changes the FBI has made to the Unified Crime Reports System Expanded material on the history of law enforcement Additional information on terrorism, homeland security, and its effect on the police New approaches to policing such as Problem-Oriented Policing and Intelligence-Led Policing Cyber crime, identity theft, accreditation, and new approaches to crime analysis New information on prosecution standards, community prosecution, and prosecutorial abuse New emphasis on the concept of jurisdiction and the inter-relation between the courts' functions and the other branches of the criminal justice system An examination of the dilemma for the courts caused by the intersection of politics, funding, media, and technology New discussions on prisoner radicalization Pedagogical features: Each chapter begins with an outline and a statement of purpose to help students understand exactly what they are supposed to master and why Illustrations to assist in the clarification and further development of topics in the text Each chapter ends with a summary, a list of key terms, and a series of discussion questions to stimulate thought Appendices with the United States Constitution, a glossary of criminal justice terminology, and websites useful in gaining knowledge of the criminal justice system Access to a free computerized learning course based on the book

Crime, Criminal Justice and Religion: A Critical Appraisal seeks to bridge a gap in the examination of crime and criminal justice by taking both a historical and a contemporary lens to explore the influence of religion. Offering unique perspectives that consider the impact on modern-day policy and practice, the book scrutinises a range of issues such as abortion, hate crime and desistance as well as reflecting upon the influence religion can have on criminal justice professions. The book acts to renew the importance of, and recognise, the influence and impact religion has in terms of how we view and ultimately address crime and deliver criminal justice. One of the first books to cover the area of crime, criminal justice and religion, the book is split into three parts, with part 1 - 'Contextualising Crime, Criminal Justice and Religion' - providing an introduction to crime, criminal justice and religion, and reflections on the role religion has had, and continues to have, in how crime is understood and how we respond to it. Part 2 - 'Appraisal of Institutions and Professional Practice' - considers the issue of religion through institutions and professions of criminal justice, such as the police and legal profession, while part 3 - 'Appraisal of Contemporary Issues' - explores a range of crime and criminal justice issues in on which religion has had an impact, such as the death penalty and terrorism. Crime, Criminal Justice and Religion will be of primary interest to academics, researchers and students in criminology, law, sociology, psychology, social policy and related Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences disciplines. It will also be of interest to theologians, both as scholars and practitioners. The book is a body of work that will appeal at an international level and will also be a key resource for a range of practitioners across the globe working on issues concerning crime and criminal justice.

A model is developed for analyzing criminal procedure across nations and cultures, and applied to the U.S., France, the U.S.S.R. and China. The model envisions common functions of arrest and detention, screening, charging and defending, trial, sanctioning and appeal. The comparison reveals significant differences between inquisitorial and adversarial systems, including the extent of court authority to control other criminal justice agencies, the defendant's role in the proceedings, and the court's role in the proceedings. Differences between noncommunist and communist inquisitorial systems involve personnel who perform each function, degrees of public participation, and the educative-rehabilitative function of the criminal justice process. Criminal Justice Abstracts The Structure of Criminal Procedure presents, for the first time ever, a detailed comparison of the criminal procedures of four major nations--France, the United States, China, and the Soviet Union. In addition, the author also develops his theory on the Morphology of Criminal Procedure which hypothesizes that there is a common structure in every modern procedural system no matter how different it may appear on the surface. He stresses six basic functions inherent in all systems--arrest and trial, detention, screening, charging and defending, trial, sanctioning, and appeal--and he successively analyzes each of them in depth. Practical ways to apply his model are provided along with encouragement for others to engage in new comparative studies, or studies of individual systems, in order to clarify the ways in which the practical demands of society, the legal profession, and legal institutions interact with the functional needs of the system to produce new ways of procedure or new ways of using old procedures.

No area of criminal law has been the subject of more controversy than the insanity defense. "The Insanity Defense" is a clear assessment of this issue as it exists in the 1980s. It provides the reader with a basis for understanding and evaluating the legislative and judicial responses to the factors that have stirred this controversy. Because extremely complex issues are involved in the effort to formulate an insanity defense, Simon and Aaronson begin with a detailed historical overview. They discuss the necessity of expert witnesses in the actual trial and probe into the jury's role and responsibility. The authors describe the various movements that have been used to abolish the insanity defense, as well as assess the use and interpretation of the defense in other nations.

This book is concerned to explore the idea of imaginary penalities and to understand why the management of criminal justice and criminal justice systems has so often reached crisis point. Its underlying theme is that when political strategies of punitive populism are combined with managerialist techniques of social auditing, a new all-encompassing form of governance has emerged - powerless to deliver what it promises but with a momentum of its own and increasingly removed from proper democratic accountability. A highly distinguished international group of contributors explores this set of themes in a variety of different contexts taken from the UK, N. America, Europe and Australia. It will be essential reading for anybody seeking to understand some of the root causes of increasing prison populations, social harms such as recidivism and domestic violence and the increasingly important role of criminal justice within systems of governance.

The new edition of 'Unlocking Criminal Law' provides coverage of the Criminal Law curriculum, presented in an innovative, visual format, as well as detailing the latest measures introduced in 2020 in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Supported by a website which offers students a host of additional practice opportunities and supporting materials, including a testbank of multiple choice questions designed to help prepare students for the forthcoming Solicitor Qualifying Examination. The books in the Unlocking the Law Series get straight to the point and offer clear and concise coverage of the law, broken-down into bite-size sections with regular recaps to boost student confidence. They are ideal as either core reading or as a supplement to a denser textbook.

In April 2021, the Court of Appeal quashed the convictions of 39 former Subpostmasters and ruled their prosecutions were an affront to the public conscience. They were just a few of the hundreds who had been prosecuted by the Post Office using IT evidence from an unreliable computer system called Horizon. When the Post Office became aware that Horizon didn't work properly, it covered it up. The Great Post Office Scandal is the story of how these innocent people had their lives ruined by a once-loved national institution and how, against overwhelming odds, they fought back to clear their names. Gripping, heart-breaking and enlightening, The Great Post Office Scandal should be read by everyone who wants to understand how this massive miscarriage of justice was allowed to happen.

Laws Relating to Sex, Pregnancy, and Infancy examines case law and legislation in regards to reproduction, pregnancy, and infancy. Cusack explores the winding pathways of legal precedence and action on the social conditions of pregnancy and childbirth, and draws from criminal and court procedures and behavioral science to determine if the law is acting in the best interest of those vulnerable populations. Cusack surveys interpersonal, familial, and societal problems presented throughout history and currently facing contemporary generations, questioning whether the criminal justice system can evolve to support the growing needs of its citizens most in need of legal assistance.

Cases and Materials on Criminal Law provides a comprehensive selection of key materials drawn from law reports, legislation, Law Commission consultation papers and reports, and Home Office publications. Clear and highly accessible, this volume is presented in a coherent structure and provides full coverage of the topics commonly found in the criminal law syllabus. The range of thoughtfully selected materials and authoritative commentary ensures that this book provides an essential collection of materials and analysis to stimulate the reader and assist in the study of this difficult and challenging area of law. New features include: revised text design with clear page layout, headings and boxed and shaded sections to aid navigation and readability chapter introductions to highlight the salient features under discussion short chapter table of contents to enable easier navigation "Comments and Questions" sections to encourage students to reflect on their reading expanded further reading to encourage students to engage further with the subject a Companion Website to provide regular updates to the book. Recent decisions of note that are extracted and analysed include R v Kennedy (manslaughter based on supply of heroin); Attorney General for Jersey v Holley (provocation); R v Mark and R v Willoughby (elements of killing by gross negligence); R v Barnes (consent as a defence to sporting injuries); Attorney General's Reference (No 3 of 2004) (accessorial liability) and R v Hatton (intoxicated mistake in self defence cases). Consideration is also given to the likely changes to the law relating to corporate manslaughter, at the time of writing contained in the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill currently before Parliament. Two major law reform publications are extensively extracted and contextualised in this 4th edition - the Law Commission's report on Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide (Law Com No 304) and the Law Commission's Report on Inchoate Liability for Assisting and Encouraging Crime (Law Com No 300). This book is an invaluable reference for students on undergraduate or CPE/PG Diploma in Law criminal law courses, particularly those studying independently or on distance learning programmes.

An essential handbook for all those involved in the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA), guiding student officers through the End Point Assessment (EPA). In a supportive and easy-to-read format, it provides invaluable advice around this complex process. Suitable for police officer apprentices, police trainers, university lecturing staff and independent assessors, it ensures learners fully understand the requirements of the EPA and how best to meet these, providing support throughout their PCDA programme and enabling them to pass first time and achieve the highest possible grade. It is also a valuable tool ensuring all involved have the required knowledge and understading of the EPA at the start of and during the programme. Examples of good practice, case studies and opportunities for critical self-reflection help develop key academic study skills. It also takes a collaborative, learner-focused approach with reference to the employer (police force), the training provider (university) and the apprentice.

This book examines young people's involvement in crime (including crimes of violence, vandalism, shoplifting, burglary and car crime) as both victims and offenders.

Although adolescence is the time when involvement in crime peaks, few previous UK-based studies have attempted to provide a methodical and comprehensive understanding of adolescent offending on a city-wide basis. This book seeks a better understanding of adolescent crime by studying the relationship between individual characteristics (social bonds and morality and self-control) and lifestyles (as defined by delinquent peers, substance use and exposure to risky behaviour settings) and their joint influence on adolescent involvement in crime, against the backdrop of the juveniles' social context - taking into account family, school and neighbourhood influences.

The findings of this study suggest the existence of three main groups of adolescent offenders; propensity induced offenders, life-style dependent offenders and situationally limited offenders, groups of offenders having different causal backgrounds to their crime involvement, and who therefore may warrant different strategies for effective prevention.

This book results from the Herculean task of gathering, evaluating and analyzing criminological data for a period in the history of Japan, the Showa Era, during which even the recording of data was dramatically affectedby change. This book is an essential, exemplary tool for everyone intersted in criminological topics.

As our understanding of genetics increases, its application to criminal justice becomes more significant. This timely book examines the use of genetic information both in criminal investigations and during the trial process. It discusses current scientific understanding and considers some potential legal, ethical and sociological issues with the use of genetic information.The author draws together debates from scientists, ethicists, sociologists and lawyers in order to understand how the criminal justice system currently reacts, and ought to react, to the new challenges presented by genetic evidence. She asks the important question of where priorities should lie: whether with society's desire to be protected from crime, or with an individual's desire to be protected from an unwanted intrusion into his or her genome. Topics include rights of privacy and consent in obtaining DNA samples, evidentiary issues in court, the impact of genetic evidence on punishment theory and sentencing, and genetic discrimination. This book will be of use to criminal and medical law students, along with academics, practitioners and policymakers interested in exploring the various criminal law issues in relation to genetics. It will also be of interest to criminal justice, philosophy, ethics, sociology and psychology students and academics looking explore the legal issues involved in such a topic.

This book is concerned to explore the changing role of the Parole Board across the range of its responsibilities, including the prediction of risk and deciding on the release (or continued detention) of the growing number of recalled prisoners and of those subject to indeterminate sentences. In doing so it aims to rectify the lack of attention that has been given by lawyers, academics and practitioners to back door sentencing (where the real length of a sentence is decided by those who take the decision to release) compared to front door sentencing' (decisions taken by judges or magistrates in court). Particular attention is given in this book to the important changes made to the role and working of the Parole Board as a result of the impact of the early release scheme of the Criminal Justice Act 2005, with the Parole Board now deciding in Panels concerned with determinate sentence prisoners, lifers and recalled prisoners. A wide range of significant issues, and case law, has arisen as a result of these changes, which the contributors to this book, leading authorities in the field, aim to explore.

Expertly drawing on international examples and existing literature, Penal Populism closes a gap in the field of criminology. In this fascinating expose of current crime policy, John Pratt examines the role played by penal populism on trends in contemporary penal policy. Penal populism is associated with the public's decline of deference towards criminals and paranoia that crime is out of control. Pratt argues that new media technology is helping to spread national insecurities and politicians are not only encouraging such sentiments but are also being led on by them. Pratt explains it is having most influence in the development of policy on sex offenders, youth crime, persistent criminals and anti-social behaviour. Perhaps explaining why in many Western countries prisons rates have soared while crime rates have been declining. This topical resource also covers new dimensions of the phenomenon, including: the changing nature and structure of the mass media; less reliance on the more orthodox expertise of civil servants and academics; and, limitations to the impact of populism, bureaucratic resistance from judges, lawyers and academics and the restorative justice movement. in criminology and crime policy.

The relationship between education and youth crime has long been recognised in terms of social policy and public opinion, the full extent of this and its implications has been largely neglected and unexplored: educationalists on the one hand and criminologists on the other have largely failed to engage meaningfully with one another on the issue, and there has often been a large gap between youth justice and educational provision. This book seeks to remedy this deficiency, providing a critical survey of the research evidence, policy development and practical issues relating to education and offending by young people. It has the following objectives: to examine the evolution of social policy and institutions in relation to the relationship between education and offending by young people; establish the scale and nature of the problem and the characteristics of the young people involved; identify any evidence based approaches that could be adopted across education and youth justice; review the effectiveness of New Labour's education and youth justice reforms; propose a series of measures for social policy makers and practitioners in education and youth justice. Young People and Offending will be essential reading for youth justice practitioners as well as students taking courses on youth crime and youth justice, or on youth justice or probation training courses.

The relationship between education and youth crime has long been recognised in terms of social policy and public opinion, the full extent of this and its implications has been largely neglected and unexplored: educationalists on the one hand and criminologists on the other have largely failed to engage meaningfully with one another on the issue, and there has often been a large gap between youth justice and educational provision. This book seeks to remedy this deficiency, providing a critical survey of the research evidence, policy development and practical issues relating to education and offending by young people. It has the following objectives: to examine the evolution of social policy and institutions in relation to the relationship between education and offending by young people; establish the scale and nature of the problem and the characteristics of the young people involved; identify any evidence based approaches that could be adopted across education and youth justice; review the effectiveness of New Labour's education and youth justice reforms; propose a series of measures for social policy makers and practitioners in education and youth justice. Young People and Offending will be essential reading for youth justice practitioners as well as students taking courses on youth crime and youth justice, or on youth justice or probation training courses.

To what extent should media coverage of criminal court proceedings be permitted? The central issue is how to strike a balance between the public's right to information and the individual's right to privacy. Freedman reviews the underlying legal principles and constitutional issues and describes important case law. He analyzes situations in which photographing, broadcasting, and televising in the courtroom are currently allowed and examines the relationship between the presence of media equipment during criminal trials and the actions of trial lawyers. The issue of media coverage as it relates to civil trials is also addressed, and British practices regarding press and media coverage of court proceedings are offered for comparison. "Legal Information Alert"

Freedman here presents a comprehensive discussion of an issue of growing importance to both the legal profession and the communications industry: the extent to which media coverage of criminal court proceedings should be permitted. As Freedman points out, the central question is how to strike the appropriate balance between the public's right to information and the individual's right to privacy. In "Press and Media Access to the Criminal Courtroom," he reviews the underlying legal principles and constitutional issues, describes the important cases that have shaped current legal thinking, and provides citations of the applicable case law.

First published in 1973, Wrongful Imprisonment aims to combine the human interest of individual cases of wrongful imprisonment with a general analysis of how and why they occur. It deals in detail with the English system, but also provides comparisons with Scotland, France, and the United States. The authors spent three years collecting material from newspaper reports, trial transcripts, books, lawyers, the Home Office and - most important - interviews with the persons concerned. As a result, they have been able to analyse objectively the existing system of justice; they have isolated and identified the areas in which the system is at fault, and the successive hazards which may confront the innocent man suspected of a criminal offence; they have also revealed the many obstacles which have to be overcome by the wrongfully imprisoned man seeking to establish his innocence and regain his liberty. This topical and convincingly argued book should appeal not only to students of law and sociology, or to lawyers, policemen, criminals, and others involved in the system of criminal justice, but also to the man in the Wormwood Scrubs omnibus.