From Social Justice To Criminal Justice

Social Justice, Criminal Justice is a thought-provoking examination of the U.S. legal system, focusing on how criminal justice and social justice are related. The book provides a solid foundation of key philosophical and theoretical issues and goes on to examine the function of the law as it relates to social justice issues. The authors present and explain the foundational legal documents of the United States, and critically examine how those same documents, which espoused the rhetoric of equality for all, contribute toward the perpetuation and maintenance of a system of exclusion for groups with minority status, such as racial and ethnic minorities, the poor, women, and the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community. Succinct but comprehensive, this text offers a careful examination of possible relationships between social justice theory and criminal justice practice and illuminates the role that the legal system has played in both preventing and assisting social change and power dynamics. For each identified group, important landmark court decisions are used to demonstrate the plight of the powerless and the quest for equal rights. The book provides an important perspective and understanding of the relationships among criminal justice, social justice, and the law. Suitable for undergraduate and early graduate courses in Social Justice, Justice Studies, Critical Issues, Ethics, and American Government and Law, this text provides easily digestible content for those interested in thinking critically about the U.S. legal system.

·· See Sample Chapters & Resources to download the Introduction to Criminal and Social Justice ·· `Dee Cook′s new book is important, innovative and invigorating. It brings together two spheres - criminal justice and social justice - which are usually, but as she persuades us, unjustifiably kept separate intellectually and in policy and practice. Dee Cook makes a powerful case for the inter-connectedness of penal policy and social policy, bringing together concepts from the two spheres such as social exclusion, citizenship, and human rights. Her innovative approach brings insightful theoretical analysis together with two extended case studies - differential treatment of tax fraud and benefit fraud, and the "third way" politics of New Labour. This book will make it much more difficult for students, policy-makers and criminal justice practitioners to ignore the social context in which penal policy evolves and is implemented′ - Professor Barbara Hudson, University of Central Lancashire `This is an accessible and lively critical account of the inter-relationship between social and criminal justice in New Labour Britain. It should engage students on a range of programmes, particularly social policy, criminology and sociology′ - Ruth Lister, Professor of Social Policy, Loughborough University `A cogent demonstration that criminal justice cannot be achieved in the absence of social justice. There is a blistering but thoroughly informed critique of New Labour′s failure to narrow this "justice gap". Let′s hope the carefully reasoned but impassioned arguments about how to get really tough on the causes of crime and injustice get the attention they deserve′ - Robert Reiner, Professor of Criminology, London School of Economics and Political Science Criminal and Social Justice provides an important insight into the relationship between social inequality, crime and criminalisation. In this accessible and innovative account, Dee Cook examines the nature of the relationship between criminal and social justice - both in theory and in practice. Current social, economic, political and cultural considerations are brought to bear, and contemporary examples are used throughout to help the student to consider this relationship. The book is essential reading for students and researchers in criminology, social policy, social work and sociology. It is also relevant to practitioners in statutory, voluntary and community sector organisations.

"Brings Indigenous perspectives and approaches to achieving social justice, sovereignty, and self-determination"--Provided by publisher.

This reader features contributions from the best-known names in criminology today, commenting on modern theories of criminology and how the concept of justice is met (or not met) by our criminal justice system. Based on critical theories of criminology, each author presents a compelling vision of illustrations of the theory and shows how the theoretical framework relates to the nature and structure of our criminal justice system.

The economically deprived come into contact with the criminal court system in disproportionate number. This collection of original, interactive essays, written from a variety of ideological perspectives, explores some of the more troubling questions and ethical dilemmas inherent in this situation. The contributors, including well-known legal and political philosophers Philip Pettit, George Fletcher, and Jeremy Waldron, examine issues such as heightened vulnerability, indigent representation, and rotten social background defenses.

This is a provocative collection of timely reflections on the state of social democracy and its inextricable links to crime and justice. Authored by some of the world's leading thinkers from the UK, US, Canada and Australia, the volume provides an understanding of socially sustainable societies.

Drawing on contemporary issues ranging from globalization and neoliberalism to the environment, this essential textbook - ideal for course use - encourages readers to question the limits of the law in its present state in order to develop fairer systems at the local, national, and global levels.

PMThis book presents a collection of some of the best articles from the first ten issues of the journal. The book includes important discussions of street crime, rape, delinquency, female crime and imprisonment, as well as widely acclaimed contributions on criminological theorizing. The authors are, or have been, members of the editorial collective of Crime and Social Justice, and have taught criminology at the University of California, Berkeley. Like the journal, the book offers a series of insights and challenges not only to those working in criminology but to anyone active in the major struggles around law, crime and the state. It presents a clear and coherent response to those who question the need for and viability of a radical criminology. Contents: Part I3 Criminology and the Definition of Crime; 1. "Street" Crime: a View from the Left,^R Tony Platt; 2. Intellectuals for Law and Order: a Critique of the New "Realists," Tony Platt and Paul Takagi; 3. Social Class and the Definition of Crime, Herman Schwendinger and Julia Schwendinger; Part II3 Crime; 4. Karl Marx, The Theft of Wood and Working-class Composition, Peter Linebaugh; 5. Delinquency and the Collective Varieties of Youth, Herman Schwendinger and Julia Schwendinger; 6. Any Woman's Blues: a Critical Overview of Women, Crime and the Criminal Justice System, Dorie Klein and June Kress; Part III3 The State and Criminal Justice; 7. The Penal Question in Capital, Dario Melossi; 8. A Garrison State in "Democratic" Society,^R Paul Taka