Race, Crime, and the Law

Rating:
Summary: intelligent discussion on race-law issues BASED ON FACTS
Review: 1st & foremost, this is the BEST book i've read in a long time. Kennedy acheives what Gates & West do NOT ... an intelligent discourse on important issues currently facing racial minorities that is rooted in fact. he offers facts & precedent to support his opinions, views & hypothesis ... as opposed to rhetoric supported by rhetoric.

the book dissects the historical perversion of criminal justice/law enforcement to perpetuate the oppression of racial minorites. then it uses this historical context/premise to draw a picture of the current state of the relationship/role of the criminal justice system & law enforcement in minority communities. The book has brilliant sections on racial profiling, the war on drugs and the death penalty. each of these issues are dissected from a viewpoint of the critical legal issues ... and Kennedy finds time to interject his own opinion, SUPPORTED BY FACTS. Kennedy presents his material in a logical & organized mannner ... but not always concise. although i'm not a lawyer, it felt very much like a legal brief at times ... but it was still easy to read.

... highly, highly recommended, although it is a bit thick.

Rating:
Summary: Tells it like it is
Review: Schools in America have always taught us with blindfolds on. It's up to the American people, [mainly people of color] to find the truth. The negative race relation state that America is today, is a direct result of the pre 1900's. Randall Kennedy shows us in this book how slanted the laws were during slavery times and what do you know, things haven't changed all that much.

Rating:
Summary: A Work that delves deeply into the topic
Review: This lucid work of kennedy's is a comprehensive and beautifully written examination of race and its ralation to the criminal justice system and the law. Kennedy's arguments are superb, and he supports everything that he says with hard evidence, leaving his sound biases and premises the only things left to be considered. Kennedy is, even in this last matter, careful to make this book an exploration rather than a persuasion, and while he does make arguements and try to persuade the reader, he does not condemn his opposition and he certainly does not limit the scope of his thinking in any way possibly detrimental to the flow of ideas.