Criminal Justice in Divided America

A thoughtful, thorough, and clear-eyed analysis of the American political divide, coupled with a fulsome critique of a justice system that, in the author’s view, delivers too little crime prevention, too little justice, and has fallen short of fulfilling its potential to safeguard and advance pluralistic democracy…a welcome contribution to the literature on criminal justice and democracy. – Jason Samuels * Criminal Justice Review *
Argues that populist democracy has been a significant cause of our criminal justice problems and that those problems, in turn, are largely responsible for the continued degradation of American democracy. – Christopher Slobogin * Jotwell *
A searching examination of the criminal justice system in America, each of whose components is found wanting…A valuable platform for advocates of judicial, penal, and police reform. * Kirkus Reviews *
Sklansky’s impactful, crisply written study makes a cogent argument for criminal justice reform as a means to preserve U.S. democracy. – Chad E. Statler * Library Journal *
Analysis doesn’t get much more clear-eyed than this. – Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Review *
Sklansky’s sober and careful analysis is exactly what we need right now. Democracy and criminal legal processing are interconnected, he argues in this important new book, and populism and polarization threaten the democratic governance that empowers all groups to participate. His remedy—a renewed commitment to democratic pluralism—is ambitiously hopeful. Let’s hope he is right. – Tracey Meares, Yale Law School
Criminal Justice in Divided America is an authoritative and accessible commentary on the most vexing issues facing the administration of criminal justice. It is full of pertinent information, conveyed with nuance and respect for complexity. I recommend it enthusiastically. – Randall Kennedy, Harvard Law School
Breathtaking in its scope and depth. Sklansky deftly surveys a huge literature—sociological, psychological, philosophical, political, legal—and shows that the failures of our criminal legal system are inextricably linked to the crisis in American democracy. Challenging the recent populism of the left and right, Criminal Justice in Divided America advances a vision of democratic pluralism that is both an antidote to polarization and a roadmap to reform. – Erin Murphy, New York University School of Law
This book outlines concrete steps that we can pursue right now to achieve greater fairness and equality in the justice system while restoring American democracy. Its bold agenda of consensus-based reforms is at once inspiring and realistic—and necessary. – Sarah Seo, Columbia Law School

David A. Sklansky is Stanley Morrison Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and faculty codirector of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center. A former assistant US attorney in Los Angeles, he is the author of A Pattern of Violence: How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice.

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