Race & the Law: Civil Rights & Criminal Justice

Available electronically through the Brandeis Law Digital Library.
Provides an overview of civil rights & constitutional litigation.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the single most important piece of legislation passed by Congress in American history. The bill's passage has often been credited to the political leadership of President Lyndon B. Johnson, or the moral force of Martin Luther King Jr. Yet as Risen shows, the battle for the Civil Rights Act was a story much bigger than those two men.

In the Jim Crow South, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Vietnamese & Indian Americans faced obstacles similar to those experienced by African Americans in their fight for civil & human rights.

Ten historians & legal scholars examine the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the first federal civil rights statute in American history.

Explains how & why African Americans differ in their willingness to ascribe legitimacy to legal institutions, as well as in their willingness to accept the policy decisions those institutions promulgate.

A former federal prosecutor explains how the system really works, and how to disrupt it.

A collection of the complete reports from the Department of Justice's landmark investigations of police violence in three major American cities.

A history of the McCleskey v. Kemp Supreme Court ruling that effectively condoned racism in capital cases.

Explores the question of why U.S. society became so punitive & offers important lessons to anyone concerned about the future of race & the criminal justice system in the U.S.

Examines the causes, effects & solutions for the presence & plight of Native Americans in the criminal justice system.

Explores & critiques the many ways the criminal justice system impacts the lives of African American boys & men at every stage of the criminal process from arrest through sentencing.

Presents a history of judicial failure in America, revealing how the Supreme Court has enabled racist practices, including profiling & intimidation & legitimated gross law enforcement excesses that disproportionately affect people of color.

Introduces the cutting-edge technology that is changing how the police do their jobs & shows why it is more important than ever that citizens understand the far-reaching consequences of big data surveillance as a law enforcement tool.