No Equal Justice

Now in paperback, a devastating critique of race- and class-based inconsistencies in the American criminal justice system. In a hard-hitting study hailed by Publishers Weekly as "well-argued" and "passionate," leading constitutional scholar David Cole reveals that, despite a veneer of neutrality, race- and class-based double standards operate in virtually every criminal justice setting, from police behavior, to jury selection, to sentencing. These double standards allow the privileged to enjoy constitutional protections from police power without paying the costs associated with extending those protections across the board to minorities and the poor. But they also inflict even greater costs on society, by compromising the legitimacy of the criminal justice system, and by exacerbating racial divisions nationally. No Equal Justice offers specic suggestions for moving beyond the inconsistencies we have tolerated, and concludes with a powerful argument for rebuilding the sense of community that is so essential to a safe and healthy society.