Black Robes, White Justice
by Bruce Wright
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"This prophetic book has ignited national controversy and debate since its first publication - and continues to sell thousands of copies every year." "The author, a New York State Supreme Court justice and a black man, argues that our legal system is fundamentally unfair toward African-Americans. He documents this assertion with many cases drawn from his long experience as a lawyer and judge. The subjects covered include affirmative action, police power, law schools, the U.S. Constitution, show more and the deeply ingrained prejudices of many white judges." "In the aftermath of the Rodney King trials and the L.A. riots, much of what Judge Wright has written is more timely and relevant than ever. His new foreword for this edition addresses those and other recent developments."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I was briefly tempted to tag this "Horror", since that aptly describes the treatment of people of color and poor people in our criminal justice system.
Wright, an African American New York Supreme Court justice, has written a scathing indictment of that system. The book was written in 1987, but too much of what he describes still goes on. We are, in fact, probably more aware of it. We know that racial profiling occurs, and has increased of late. We know that it the race of the victim is a major determinant in whether a convicted murderer will be sentenced to death. (Race and the Death Penalty) We know that minority defendants will receive harsher sentences than whites convicted of the same crimes. We know that the prosecutors, judges and show more policy makers are overwhelmingly white males.
It is difficult to fault Wright for his anger; unfortunately, at times it interferes with his argument. That is too bad, because what he has to say needs to be heard. show less
Wright, an African American New York Supreme Court justice, has written a scathing indictment of that system. The book was written in 1987, but too much of what he describes still goes on. We are, in fact, probably more aware of it. We know that racial profiling occurs, and has increased of late. We know that it the race of the victim is a major determinant in whether a convicted murderer will be sentenced to death. (Race and the Death Penalty) We know that minority defendants will receive harsher sentences than whites convicted of the same crimes. We know that the prosecutors, judges and show more policy makers are overwhelmingly white males.
It is difficult to fault Wright for his anger; unfortunately, at times it interferes with his argument. That is too bad, because what he has to say needs to be heard. show less
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Author Information
2 Works 81 Members
Bruce Wright practiced law in New York City for twenty years before serving ten turbulent years as a judge in New York's Criminal Court and two more years in Civil Court. He was a New York State Supreme Court Justice for over 15 years
Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- Dedication
- This book is for Patricia Fonville
- First words
- White people are conditioned from the time of their births to the preferred status of their skin color.
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Statistics
- Members
- 78
- Popularity
- 404,882
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (5.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook
- ISBNs
- 5
