NCJ Number
109493
Date Published
1988
Length
295 pages
Annotation
This book of collected writings by a preeminent jurist focuses on the balance between individual and societal rights and the underlying causes of crime.
Abstract
The 18 chapters in the book are divided into 4 major categories designed to help readers understand how judges do their work, and how the cases they decide form an incremental and evolving approach to criminal law and criminal responsibility. In Part 1, 'The Dilemma of Criminal Responsibility,' the author explores the relationship between morality and crime. The discussion centers on the Durham v. United States opinion on the insanity defense -a concept which questions society's willingness to pay the price of its moral principles. Society's response to and responsibility for poverty, injustice, and other social evils are examined in Part 2, 'The Roots of Crime.' The author argues that severe punitive action needs to be counterbalanced with understanding of the intolerance of social injustice and with an active desire to deal effectively with the problem. Two opinions are examined -United States v. Alexander and Murdock, and Kent v. United States. The issue of justice and juveniles is discussed in the third section. 'Equality Under the Law' looks at the implications of the constitutional promises and the gap between rhetoric and practice in the criminal justice system. The author maintains that the solution to the undermining of 'equal justice under law' is not simply to revamp the criminal courts to speed up their work, but to institute reforms that emphasize individual rights. The Bazelon-Katzenbach letters and United States v. Willie Decoster opinion are examined. The final section, 'What Is The Question?' explores the legal and social problems inherent in the prison system, Soviet psychiatry, mental health law, and the first amendment. Chapter notes and index. (Publisher abstract modified)