Criminal Procedure and Racial Injustice offers a transformative approach to studying criminal procedure by weaving a critical focus on race into the fabric of traditional content. This innovative casebook goes beyond the standard framework to reveal how racial prejudice and disparities have historically shaped—and continue to influence—the criminal justice system. While maintaining comprehensive coverage of core topics, the text provides a nuanced exploration of racial dynamics within foundational doctrines and cases.

Highlights of Racial Integration in Core Topics:

• Investigative Procedures: The book probes the implicit role of race in decisions like Terry v. Ohio, not just in the Court’s opinion but also in the trial and appellate advocacy, including courtroom examinations at the suppression hearing stage.
• Adjudicative Processes: It examines race-related issues in jury composition, including voir dire's use to screen for racial bias, the exclusion of Black jurors via peremptory challenges, and the Batson v. Kentucky framework to curb this practice. Cross-race eyewitness identification and its implications for wrongful convictions are also deeply analyzed.

Emphasis on Lawyering:

A secondary focus explores the strategic decisions and tactics of prosecutors and defense counsel, prompting students to consider the intersection of racial issues, legal doctrine, and trial advocacy. Robust Notes and Questions accompany each case, encouraging critical thought on race, legal outcomes, and professional responsibility.

Key Topics and Unique Features:

Investigative Chapters:

• Police Interrogation and the Fifth Amendment: Traces the evolution of Miranda rights, custody and waiver principles, and the endurance of Miranda v. Arizona.
• The Fourth Amendment: Defines search and seizure, exceptions to the warrant requirement, and the racial legacies of Terry v. Ohio, including profiling and traffic stops.
• The Exclusionary Rule: Explores its origins, exceptions, and suppression hearing strategies.
• Grand Juries: Examines their power, secrecy, and potential for abuse.
• Addressing Police Misconduct: A cutting-edge chapter on remedies for civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, including qualified immunity and DOJ investigations of systemic misconduct under 42 U.S.C. § 14141.

Adjudicative Chapters:

• Right to Counsel and Criminal Defense: Reviews ineffective assistance claims and systemic underfunding of indigent defense.
• Prosecution Function: Analyzes prosecutorial discretion, power, and ethical considerations.
• Pleas and Plea Bargaining: Evaluates the dominance of plea agreements in resolving criminal cases.
• Right to a Jury Trial: Explores surprising outcomes from an originalist perspective on jury rights.
• Eyewitness Identification: Highlights the fallibility of eyewitness testimony in the context of wrongful convictions.
• Incarceration and Sentencing: Investigates racial inequities in bail, the death penalty, and sentencing disparities like the crack/cocaine divide.

Unconventional Chapters:

• Discriminatory Enforcement: Explores the significant challenges in bringing claims of racially discriminatory policing.
• The DOJ and Civil Rights Prosecution: Chronicles federal enforcement policies from Reconstruction to modern police violence cases.

Benefits for Professors and Students:

• Flexibility: Modular chapters allow instructors to tailor course content.
• Engaging Cases: Modern, timely cases illuminate persistent racial disparities.
• Robust Notes and Questions: Promote critical analysis of legal doctrine, racial dynamics, and lawyering strategies.

With its interdisciplinary focus, Criminal Procedure and Racial Injustice equips students to critically examine the criminal justice system through the lens of race, preparing them for meaningful advocacy and thoughtful practice in an evolving legal landscape.

Criminal Procedure and Racial Injustice - James C Rehnquist ISBN: 9798889061144