Overview

This book sets forth a new approach to twenty-first-century criminal justice and punishment, one that fully involves the community, providing a better way to make our criminal process more transparent and inclusive. Using the prism of the Sixth Amendment community jury trial, this book offers fresh and much-needed ways to incorporate the citizenry into the procedures of criminal justice, thereby resulting in greater investment and satisfaction in the system. It exposes the various challenges the American criminal justice system faces because of its ongoing failure to integrate the community's voice. Ultimately, the people's right to participate in the criminal justice system through the criminal jury - a right that is all too often overlooked - is essential to truly legitimizing the criminal process and ensuring its democratic nature.

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9781107043541

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Reviews

Advance praise: 'American criminal justice is adrift from its moral, democratic roots. In Defending the Jury, Laura Appleman shines a light on the many shadowy stages of America's impersonal, lawyer-run, plea bargaining assembly line. She explores the historic importance of juries as the conscience of the community; traces how criminal-justice insiders have steadily displaced outsiders' common-sense perspectives; and makes a strong case for better including citizens' voices at every stage, from bail through guilty plea, sentencing, and probation or parole. Clearly yet passionately written, Defending the Jury is a must-read for everyone concerned with America's broken criminal justice machine.' Stephanos Bibas, University of Pennsylvania, author of The Machinery of Criminal Justice Advance praise: 'Veteran litigators regard trying a case to a jury as the greatest thrill - but it's one that fewer and fewer lawyers experience, in today's age of bureaucratized, paper-pushing justice. Laura Appleman's innovative and thoughtful reform proposals, in addition to restoring the voice of the community to punishment, might also make practicing law more fulfilling and enjoyable for lawyers.' David B. Lat, former AUSA (federal prosecutor) and Managing Editor of Above the Law, www.abovethelaw.com

Author Information

Laura I Appleman is a Professor of Law at the Willamette University College of Law. She received the Meisner Award for Faculty Scholarship in 2011 and speaks frequently to local and national news media on topics of crime, incarceration, and sentencing. For five years, Appleman was a criminal appellate public defender at the Center for Appellate Litigation, where she briefed and argued approximately fifty appeals in front of the New York appellate courts, including the New York Court of Appeals. Appleman currently blogs at the Faculty Lounge (www.thefacultylounge.org).

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