Arbitrary Justice The Power of the American Prosecutor

Author: Angela J. Davis
Publisher: Oxford University Press USA
ISBN: 9780195384734
Published In: July 2009
Format: Paperback , 280 pages
Jurisdiction: U.S. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Description
Contents
Author

Details

Selling point: New afterword covers the Duke Lacrosse case, the Jena Six cases, the Genarlow Wilson case, and Alberto Gonzales U. S. attorney scandal
Selling point: Hardcover Performance: Winner of the 2007 PSP Award for Excellence, Law & Legal Studies from the Association of American Publishers
Selling point: Author Platform: Davis served for twelve years as a public defender in Washington, D.C. before becoming a law professor. She has appeared on various TV and radio programs, penned op-eds for the Washington Post, and is often invited to speak to national legal organizations on prosecutors and minorities in the criminal justice system " Author Platform: Davis served for twelve years as a public defender in Washington, D.C. before becoming a law professor. She has appeared on various TV and radio programs, penned op-eds for the Washington Post, and is often invited to speak to national legal organizations on prosecutors and minorities in the criminal justice system

What happens when public prosecutors, the most powerful officials in the criminal justice system, seek convictions instead of justice? Why are cases involving well-to-do victims often prosecuted more vigorously than those involving poor victims? Why do wealthy defendants frequently enjoy more lenient plea bargains than the disadvantaged? In this eye-opening work, Angela J. Davis shines a much-needed light on the power of American prosecutors, revealing how the day-to-day practice of even the most well-intentioned prosecutors can result in unequal treatment of defendants and victims. Ranging from mandatory minimum sentencing laws that enhance prosecutorial control over the outcome of cases, to the increasing politicization of the office, Davis uses powerful stories of individuals caught in the system to demonstrate how the perfectly legal exercise of prosecutorial discretion can result in gross inequities in criminal justice. For the paperback edition, Davis provides a new Afterword which covers such recent incidents of prosecutorial abuse as the Jena Six case, the Duke lacrosse case, the Department of Justice firings, and more.

1: Prosecutorial Discretion: Power and Privilege
2: The Power to Charge
3: Let's Make a Deal: The Power of the Plea Bargain
4: Prosecutor and the Victims of Crime
5: Prosecutor and the Dealth Penalty
6: Federal Prosecutors and the power of the Attorney General
7: Prosecutorial Misconduct: the Abuse of Power and Discretion
8: Prosecutorial Ethnics
9: Prosecutorial Responsibility
10: Prospects for Reform
Afterword
Notes

Angela J. Davis is Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law. Prior to becoming a law professor, she was a public defender at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia for twelve years. She has appeared on various TV and radio programs, written op-eds for the Washington Post, and is often invited to speak to national legal organizations.