| Would You Convict?: Seventeen Cases That Challenged the Law Contributor(s): Robinson, Paul H. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0814775314 ISBN-13: 9780814775318 Publisher: New York University Press OUR PRICE: $30.40 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: November 2001 Annotation: "A thought-provoking book on how accurately criminal law and tis application reflect our sense of justice...an excellent text." --Barry N. Sweet, "The Law and Politics Book Review" A police trooper inspects a car during a routine traffic stop and finds a vast cache of weapons, complete with automatic rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and black ski masks-a veritable bank robber's kit. Should the men in the car be charged? If so, with what? A son neglects to care for his elderly mother, whose emaciated form is discovered shortly before she dies a painful death. Is the son's neglect punishable, and if so how? A career con man writes one bad check too many and is sentenced to life in prison-for a check in the amount of $129.75. Is this just? A thief steals a backpack, only to find it contains a terrorist bomb. He alerts the police and saves lives, transforming himself from petty criminal to national hero. These are just a few of the many provocative cases that Paul Robinson presents and unravels in Would You Convict? Judging crimes and meting out punishment has long been an informal national pasttime. High-profile crimes or particularly brutal ones invariably prompt endless debate, in newspapers, on television, in coffee shops, and on front porches. Our very nature inclines us to be armchair judges, freely waving our metaphorical gavels and opining as to the innocence or guilt-and suitable punishment-of alleged criminals. Confronting this impulse, Paul Robinson here presents a series of unusual episodes that not only challenged the law, but that defy a facile or knee-jerk verdict. Narrating the facts in compelling, but detached detail, Robinson invites readersto sentence the transgressor (or not), before revealing the final outcome of the case. The cases described in Would You Convict? engage, shock, even repel. Without a doubt, they will challenge you and your belief system. And the way in which juries and judges have resolved them will almost certainly surprise you.
Acknowledgments xi Prologue 1 1 Punishing Intent, Harm, or Dangerousness? 3 Are Evil Intentions a Crime? 3 People's Intuitions of Justice 8 The Law's Rules 9 Background 9 The Aftermath 11 Attempt versus the Complete Offense: The Significanceof Resulting Harm 19 Can Father and Daughter Kill the Same Man Twice? 20 People's Intuitions of Justice 21 More Facts 22 People's Intuitions of Justice 23 The Law's Rules 25 The Aftermath 25 Murder versus Attempted Murder: The Significance ofResulting Harm 27 The Final Outcome 28 The Requirements of Criminal Liability 28 Life Imprisonment for Air Conditioning Fraud? 28 People's Intuitions of Justice 31 Trial and Sentence 32 Punishing Dangerousness: Cloaking Preventive Detentionas Criminal Justice 32 The Appeal 37 The Cost of Undercutting the Criminal Law's Moral Credibility 37 The Final Outcome 40 Segregating Preventive Detention from Criminal Justice 41 2 Knowing the Law's Commands 44 The Congenial Cadaver 44 People's Intuitions of Justice 50 The Legality Principle and Its Rationales 50 The Aftermath 52 Today 53 When Can an Officer Carry a Gun? 54 People's Intuitions of Justice 56 The Law 57 At Trial 73 At Trial Again: Ignorance or Mistake of Law Is No Excuse 74 Acquitting the Bakers but Convicting the Marreros? 74 Communicating theCriminal Law's Commands 76 The Outcome 76 Legality in Omission Offenses 78 Neglecting Mom . . . to Death 78 People's Intuitions of Justice 81 The Charge 81 The Law's Reluctance to Impose Duties 82 The Outcome 83 Today 84 Striking the Proper Balance between Legality and Justice 84 Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers? 85 The Law 87 Ignorance of Law an Excuse? 88 People's Intuitions of Justice 89 The Aftermath 90 The Problem of Discretion 90 Same Facts, Different Perspective 91 The Virtues of Legality 95 Finishing the Story 96 3 Can Committing a Crime Be Doing the Right Thing? 97 Escaping the Prisoners 97 The Law's Rules 103 The Trial and Sentence 104 The Defense's Problems 105 On Appeal 106 People's Intuitions of Justice 107 The Green Case under the Criminal Law of Other States 107 The Final Outcome 109 Killing for Apples 110 The Law's Rule 113 The Trial and Appeal 114 People's Intuitions of Justice 115 Another Look at Ignorance of the Law 116 The Right Deed for the Wrong Reason 123 Disagreement in the Law 125 People's Intuitions of Justice 127 The Outcome 127 A Terrorist's Right to Resist the Thief? 129 Today 130 4 Can Doing the Wrong Thing Ever Be Blameless? 132 Loving, Killing Parents 132 At Trial 137 The Law's Challenge 138 The Outcome 140 People's Intuitions of Justice 140 Adjudicating Blameworthiness versus Announcing Rules of Conduct 141 The Sentence 142 Killing a Sleeping Abuser 142 The Law's Challenge, Again 147 The Aftermath 148 Battered Spouse Syndrome 149 The Trial 150 The Matters Relevant to Justice 150 The Appeal 151 The All-or-Nothing Disagreement 152 On Remand153 People's Intuitions of Justice 153 The Law's Unmet Challenge 154 The Pedophile Within 155 The Law's Rules 159 People's Intuitions of Justice 162 The Trial 162 On Appeal 163 The American View 164 Today 166 Picking Clean Drunks 166 The Law's Rules 170 People's Intuitions of Justice 171 Legal Conflict over the Reno Decoy Operation 171 The Peculiar Entrapment Defense 173 The Outcome 174 Legal Disagreements over Entrapment 175 The Aftermath 176 Who Will Explain to Kingston Why Hawkins Gets Off but He Goes to Jail? 176 5 Martyrs for Our Safety 178 A Farm Boy's Treason? 179 The Power of Coercive Indoctrination 181 Richard's Return 183 People's Intuitions of Justice 185 The Law's Rules 186 Finishing the Story 189 Of Hippies and Bread Trucks: The Abused Learns to Abuse 191 Alex Cabarga and Richard Tenneson 196 People's Intuitions of Justice 198 The Trial and Sentence 199 The Problem of Discretion 199 Desert versus Dangerousness 201 Today 204 Growing Up Gang: The Short, Violent Lifeof Robert Sandifer 206 People's Intuitions of Justice 209 Robert Sandifer and Alex Cabarga 210 The Aftermath 213 Desert versus Dangerousness, Again 215 Epilogue 217 Appendix: Governing Law, Then and Now 219 Index 321 About the Author 328 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Criminology - Law | Criminal Procedure - Law | Legal History |
| Dewey: 345.73 |
| LCCN: 99006451 |
| Physical Information: 0.65" H x 5.83" W x 8.8" (0.96 lbs) 329 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: An illuminating exercise that challenges the reader's beliefs about the justice system A police trooper inspects a car during a routine traffic stop and finds a vast cache of weapons, complete with automatic rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and black ski masks-a veritable bank robber's kit. Should the men in the car be charged? If so, with what? A son neglects to care for his elderly mother, whose emaciated form is discovered shortly before she dies a painful death. Is the son's neglect punishable, and if so how? A career con man writes one bad check too many and is sentenced to life in prison-for a check in the amount of $129.75. Is this just? A thief steals a backpack, only to find it contains a terrorist bomb. He alerts the police and saves lives, transforming himself from petty criminal to national hero. These are just a few of the many provocative cases that Paul Robinson presents and unravels in Would You Convict?Judging crimes and meting out punishment has long been an informal national pasttime. High-profile crimes or particularly brutal ones invariably prompt endless debate, in newspapers, on television, in coffee shops, and on front porches. Our very nature inclines us to be armchair judges, freely waving our metaphorical gavels and opining as to the innocence or guilt-and suitable punishment-of alleged criminals. Confronting this impulse, Paul Robinson here presents a series of unusual episodes that not only challenged the law, but that defy a facile or knee-jerk verdict. Narrating the facts in compelling, but detached detail, Robinson invites readers to sentence the transgressor (or not), before revealing the final outcome of the case. The cases described in Would You Convict? engage, shock, even repel. Without a doubt, they will challenge you and your belief system. And the way in which juries and judges have resolved them will almost certainly surprise you. |
Contributor Bio(s): Robinson, Paul H.: - Paul H. Robinson has written influential commentary for the New York Times (on the Unabomber case), the Wall Street Journal (on the beating of Reginald Denny after the O.J. verdict), and for Atlantic Monthly. The author of several books, he is currently the Edna B. and Ednyfed H. Williams Professor of Law at Northwestern University. |