Alderman, Ellen.
In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action.
New York: Morrow. 1991.Overview of the Bill of Rights and its general usage. Discusses applicability of Bill of Rights to state proceedings. Dry reading.
DiIulio, John. ‘The Question of Blacks and Crime.‘ The Public Interest. #117. 1994.DiIulio claims America’s crime problem is primarily a problem of urban Blacks, both as perpetrators and victims. Law and Order is the best way to go. Tougher punishments would both prevent crime from spreading.
Goldwin, Robert A.
Why Blacks Women and Jews Are not Mentioned in the Constitution and other unorthodox views.
Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute. 1990.Discussion of views as diverse as who owns the minerals at the bottom of the sea to how nations show an ignorance of the link between property and liberty. The theme consistent throughout this work is that the Constitution is much deeper than most people will ever understand. Good background reading on more controversial issues in Constitution.
Israel, Jerold H. and Lafave, Wayne R.
Criminal Procedure: Constitutional Limitations in a Nut Shell.
St. Paul: West Publishing. 1993.A comprehensive, but easily readable overview of United States Constitutional law and procedures. Makes clear the complex issues of constitutional law. A must read for this unit.
Israel, Jerold H. and Lafave, Kamisar, Yale and Lafave, Wayne R.
Criminal Procedures and the Constitution: Leading Supreme Court Cases and Introductory Text.
St. Paul: West Publishing. 1993.Overview of some of the major Supreme Court criminal cases. Provides opinions of the justices and discussion of relevant facts of each case. Good introductory material. A must read for this unit.
Lewis, Anthony.
Gideon’s Trumpet.
New York: Vintage Books. 1964.Lewis discusses the case of Earl Gideon, an indigent prisoner in the state of Florida who successful appeals to the U.S. Supreme court after maintaining that the constitution guaranteed all indigents the right to legal representation in all serious cases. An enlightening and informative work that gives great insight into the workings of the Supreme Court.
Patrick, John J.
Lessons on the Bill of Rights: A Teachers Supplement.
Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly. 1986.Patrick provides supplemental information for general instructions concerning the Bill of Rights. Easy to read, simplifies the complexities of the Bill of Rights and provides interesting activities to stimulate critical and analytical thinking.
Rathjen, Gregory J. and Stephens, Otis H. The Supreme Court and the Allocation of Constitutional Power. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. 1980.On overall introduction to the judicial system. Discusses the constantly changing dimensions of the role of the Supreme Court in defining the sources and limits of constitutional power.
Skolnick, Jerome H.
Justice Without Trial: Law Enforcement in Democratic Society.
New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1966.Investigation of the inner workings of an American city’s police department. Skolnick discusses key issues such as the organization of the police, and the relationship between cops and members of the Black community. Extremely insightful work.
Tonry, Michael.
Malign Neglect: Race, Crime and Punishment in America.
Oxford Press. 1995.Tonry argues that the war on drugs, administered by the Reagan and Bush Administrations predictably put lots of Black males in jails, while doing nothing to deter drug distribution or usage. Some reviews have called it the best book on race and crime in America out now.