Contents |
Mass incarceration and its "causes" -- The risks of constitutional rule-making -- The federal system, state systems, and Miranda -- The vanishing trial and mass incarceration -- Must fair trials be jury trials? -- The shift from indeterminate sentences to determinate sentences -- Plea bargaining in the United States : coercing guilty pleas -- The Supreme Court : uncertain on proportionality...endorsing deterrence -- Limiting judicial power at sentencing : the emergence of sentencing guidelines systems -- The Supreme Court : an obstacle to reform -- extreme adversarialism, muted adversarialism, and the slow death of trials -- Where do we go from here? |
Abstract |
"[This book] illuminates the role of the United States Supreme Court's criminal procedure revolution as a contributing factor to the rise in U.S. incarceration rates. Noting that the increase in mass incarceration began climbing just after the Warren Court years and the rate kept climbing for the next four decades despite the fact that the crime rate declined substantially, the author posits that part of the explanation is the Court's failure to understand that a trial system with robust rights for defendants is not a strong trial system unless it is also reliable and efficient. There have been many explanations offered for the sudden and steep escalation in the U.S. incarceration rate, ranging from the war on drugs to harsh sentencing statutes, and more. This book gives the reader a unique position from which to counter the problem of the high rate of incarceration by showing that when a trial system becomes too complicated and expensive, it no longer serves to protect defendants. For the vast majority of defendants, their constitutional rights are irrelevant as they are forced to accept plea bargains or face the prospect of a comparatively harsh sentences if convicted"-- Provided by the publisher. |
Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Biographical note | William T. Pizzi is Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Colorado Law School. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and he also holds an advanced degree in philosophy from the University of Massachusetts. Following law school, Professor Pizzi was a federal prosecutor in the District of New Jersey before joining the faculty at Colorado Law where he taught for thirty-five years. He is one of the foremost scholars in the United States on comparative criminal issues. He has lectured abroad for both the Ford Foundation and the United States Information Agency. |
Issued in other form | Online version: Pizzi, William T., 1943- Supreme Court's role in mass incarceration. New York, NY ; Routledge, 2021 9780429318207 |
LCCN | 2020016705 |
ISBN | 9780367331597 hardcover |
ISBN | 0367331594 hardcover |
ISBN | 9780367331399 paperback |
ISBN | 036733139X paperback |
ISBN | electronic book |