Criminal Legal System Books for Your “To-Read” Pile
by Heather Cessna, BIDS Executive Director
It’s that magical time of year when many of us trade in our normal day-to-day stress for that special sparkling version of holiday stress where – in addition to work and family and trying to maintain some semblance of person well-being – we also juggle travel, holidays, gift purchasing, party planning, baking, and lots and lots of kids’ days off from school, all within a neat little five weeks at the end of the year.
One of the things I find hardest during this holiday season is picking out gifts for friends and family. But, a good book is almost always a safe bet for gift giving. So, if you are looking for some good public defense or criminal legal system-focused books to give to others or to read for yourself to get inspired for the new year, here are a few suggestions that I’ve either recently read or are waiting in my to-read pile!
Four Shots in Oskie: Murder and Innocence in Middle America by Justin Wingerter. If you attended our October BIDS CLE, you probably sat in on the conversation about wrongful convictions with the author, Justin Wingerter, the subject of the book, Floyd Bledsoe, and one of Floyd’s rockstar attorneys and all around criminal law heavyweight, Jean Phillips. I didn’t get a chance to read this one before our CLE, but it’s on my to-read list and I’m very interested to delve into the details of this local wrongful conviction story.
Prisoners of Politics: Breaking The Cycle of Mass Incarceration by Rachel Elise Barkow. Unfortunately, bad criminal legal system policy is usually steeped in perception politics that drives damagingly high incarceration rates with little to no actual evidence of benefits. Professor Barkow sets out a straightforward and convincing argument that, when people’s lives and freedoms are at stake, irrational fears and personal interest in political policy making should be replaced with ideology-free, data-driven analysis of how to reduce mass incarceration while still protecting public safety. If you are looking for specific proposals on how to prevent crime while reducing incarceration for those holiday family gathering political debates, this is a good place to start!
Gideon’s Promise: A Public Defender Movement to Transform Criminal Justice by Jonathan Rapping. Rapping is a MacArthur Fellow and founder of Gideon’s Promise, the innovative public defender training program designed to bring high-quality indigent legal representation to public defender offices across the United States. His book presents a vision of the future of “American Criminal Justice” for us to aspire to, including a model of how public defense programs can work toward ending mass incarceration. If you want to get inspired for how to make systematic change in public defense, this is a good holiday read!
Usual Cruelty: The Complicity of Lawyers in the Criminal Injustice System by Alec Karakatsanis. Another amazing author that we had the honor of hosting at our June 2020 BIDS CLE, Alec’s book is eye-opening, inspiring, and tough to read.
He wastes no time in calling out some of the ways in which we, as lawyers within the criminal legal system, can unwittingly perpetuate many of the problems we want to fight against. But he also gives us inspiration to do better and provides language and strategies for how to successfully fight against oppression on behalf of both our clients and ourselves. If you want a fire in your belly the next time you walk into court, sit down and read this with an open mind.
Punishment Without Trial, Why Plea Bargaining Is A Bad Deal by Carissa Byrne Hessick is in my to-read pile and I’m excited to delve in. Although trial by jury is a fundamental constitutional right, it’s amazing to realize that close to 95% of criminal cases end in pleas. While making the case against the heavy use of the coercive plea bargaining process, Professor Hessick also lays out a framework of how to reform this process.
Here are a few more suggestions that we as criminal justice advocates might find interesting:
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky.
Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair by Danielle Sered.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan A. Stevenson.
Whether you are looking for a gift for that co-worker who has become both friend and colleague or that family member who doesn’t quite understand what it is that you do and why ﹘ or maybe you received a gift card to your favorite book store that’s burning a hole in your pocket ﹘ there’s bound to be something on this list to brighten, inspire, and educate as we move toward the fresh start of a new year.