Seven Deadly Sins

Additional Book Details

This textbook brings a fresh approach to the study of constitutional criminal rights in the context of the American criminal justice system. It is intentionally written at a level suitable for an undergraduate. Seven Deadly Sins presents seven core constitutional virtues, introduced to the reader via their mirror opposites, which the authors call the seven deadly constitutional sins of the criminal justice system. These negative attributes or sins are: intolerance, subterfuge, intrusiveness, craftiness, favoritism, cruelty, and subservience to authority. Some of these negative attributes are housed entirely in one amendment to the constitution (e.g. cruelty) while others span several areas of the Bill of Rights (e.g., subservience to authority).

Each negative trait is presented in two companion chapters. The first of the two chapters introduces the negative trait (e.g., intolerance) and establishes its constitutional place via a presentation of various, appellate law decisions written in language suitable for an undergraduate student. The second, or companion, chapter then presents real world, non-legal stories from the field in the areas of policing and corrections that illustrate the trait using a more hands on approach.

It is this combination of true stories from the field coupled with conceptualizing constitutional rights in terms of their mirror opposites (including the grouping of several amendments at once when necessary) that makes this book unique and fresh.