Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable
- Downloads：4932
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-03-29 19:23:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Joanna Schwartz
- ISBN：B0B625BSBK
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
An urgent and definitive examination of how the legal system prevents accountability for police misconduct， from one of the country's leading scholars on policing
In recent years， the high-profile murders of George Floyd， Breonna Taylor， and so many others have brought much-needed attention to the pervasiveness of police misconduct。 Yet it remains nearly impossible to hold police accountable for abuses of power—the decisions of the Supreme Court， state and local governments， and policy makers have， over decades， made the police all but untouchable。
In Shielded， University of California， Los Angeles， law professor Joanna Schwartz exposes the myriad ways in which our legal system protects police at all costs， with insightful analyses about subjects ranging from qualified immunity to no-knock warrants。 The product of more than two decades of advocacy and research， Shielded is a timely and necessary investigation into why civil rights litigation so rarely leads to justice or prevents future police misconduct。 Weaving powerful true stories of people seeking restitution for violated rights， cutting across race， gender， criminal history， tax bracket， and zip code， Schwartz paints a compelling picture of the human cost of our failing criminal justice system， bringing clarity to a problem that is widely known but little understood。 Shielded is a masterful work of immediate and enduring consequence， revealing what tragically familiar calls for “justice” truly entail。
*Listening Length: 9 hours and 8 minutes
In recent years， the high-profile murders of George Floyd， Breonna Taylor， and so many others have brought much-needed attention to the pervasiveness of police misconduct。 Yet it remains nearly impossible to hold police accountable for abuses of power—the decisions of the Supreme Court， state and local governments， and policy makers have， over decades， made the police all but untouchable。
In Shielded， University of California， Los Angeles， law professor Joanna Schwartz exposes the myriad ways in which our legal system protects police at all costs， with insightful analyses about subjects ranging from qualified immunity to no-knock warrants。 The product of more than two decades of advocacy and research， Shielded is a timely and necessary investigation into why civil rights litigation so rarely leads to justice or prevents future police misconduct。 Weaving powerful true stories of people seeking restitution for violated rights， cutting across race， gender， criminal history， tax bracket， and zip code， Schwartz paints a compelling picture of the human cost of our failing criminal justice system， bringing clarity to a problem that is widely known but little understood。 Shielded is a masterful work of immediate and enduring consequence， revealing what tragically familiar calls for “justice” truly entail。
*Listening Length: 9 hours and 8 minutes
Reviews
Pam Mooney
，
Very interesting and a bit shocking。 A must read for all of us - knowledge is power。
Zig
，
A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the lack of accountability in policing， as well as， the role of the courts in that。 Impeccably written and effective in telling the stories of the victims of police violence。
Rea Scott
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I think N。W。A。 said it best。
Duane
，
Many are the ways that police are shielded from being held to account for their misconduct。 A law professor， she documents the ways that lawyers， rules for drawing up complaints， qualified immunity， judges， juries & local municipalities conspire to shield police officers from any accountability even when they leave wrongly killed citizens in their wake。 She shows the current system is an utter sham for holding officers accountable。 Anyone who wants to understand our social justice system needs t Many are the ways that police are shielded from being held to account for their misconduct。 A law professor， she documents the ways that lawyers， rules for drawing up complaints， qualified immunity， judges， juries & local municipalities conspire to shield police officers from any accountability even when they leave wrongly killed citizens in their wake。 She shows the current system is an utter sham for holding officers accountable。 Anyone who wants to understand our social justice system needs to read this book。 。。。more
Karl
，
This book traces the history of injustice in the US legal system and catalogues the cases that allowed qualified immunity to become the unassailable precept of the police。
John
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I read and interviewed Joanna Schwartz about this book for my library's Unpacking Our History video series。https://youtu。be/_7FXHhQROYA I read and interviewed Joanna Schwartz about this book for my library's Unpacking Our History video series。https://youtu。be/_7FXHhQROYA 。。。more
Kristin Cullen
，
Very well written， if dense reading at times。 Schwartz does a great job of breaking down complex topics and explaining them clearly。 This book is an extremely important read for understanding qualified immunity and the focus of the book is narrow enough that it doesn't try to tackle too many topics。 Very well written， if dense reading at times。 Schwartz does a great job of breaking down complex topics and explaining them clearly。 This book is an extremely important read for understanding qualified immunity and the focus of the book is narrow enough that it doesn't try to tackle too many topics。 。。。more
Andrew Somers
，
Infuriating
Matt Busche
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A thorough examination of how the police became untouchable。 The main reason is qualified immunity has evolved and turned into a guard for police to almost never be charged with a crime。 The story is told through individual experiences with different ways police avoid being held accountable。A few quotes from the book> Even people who can show their constitutional rights were violated may have their cases dismissed because they cannot find prior court decisions with nearly identical facts; withou A thorough examination of how the police became untouchable。 The main reason is qualified immunity has evolved and turned into a guard for police to almost never be charged with a crime。 The story is told through individual experiences with different ways police avoid being held accountable。A few quotes from the book> Even people who can show their constitutional rights were violated may have their cases dismissed because they cannot find prior court decisions with nearly identical facts; without such cases they cannot defeat qualified immunity， even if the officers clearly abused their authority。> Defenders of qualified immunity have not been able to summon a reason why officers who violate the Constitution should be protected from liability simply because a court has not previously ruled nearly identical conduct to be unconstitutional。 Instead， the strongest defenses of qualified immunity have been various predictions that the world would be worse off without it。 But claims about the need for qualified immunity are unsupported by the facts on the ground。> Officers do not need qualified immunity to protect them from bankruptcy when they are sued; local governments almost always pick up the tab。> Because， as the Supreme Court has said， qualified immunity is meant to protect officers from the burdens of discovery and trial， an officer who is denied qualified immunity can immediately appeal that decision。 What this means in practice is that officers can call time-out in the middle of a case， adding months or years to the case and dramatically increasing the costs of litigation。> In Jessop v。 City of Fresno， police officers stole more than $225，000 in cash and rare coins when executing a warrant。 Prior cases had held that it was unconstitutional for officers to steal， but those cases were factually distinct-involving the theft of different types of property under different circumstances。 According to the appeals court， the officers "ought to have recognized" that it was wrong to steal the coins and cash， but "they did not have clear notice that it violated the Fourth Amendment" because prior court decisions "did not put the constitutional question beyond debate。> In fact， the very same court that decided Norris's case in 2021 had ruled five years earlier that it was unconstitutional for an officer who executed a warrant on the wrong house to detain its residents at gunpoint-almost exactly what had happened to Onree Norris。 But that prior court decision was not enough to defeat qualified immunity in Norris's case because it was "unpublished"-meaning that it was available online but not in the books of decisions that are issued each year-and so was not technically binding on the court。 The court declined to publish its decision in Norris's case as well; so if， in the future， officers hold the wrong person at gunpoint after executing a search warrant at the wrong house， the law still won't be "clearly established" and those officers can receive qualified immunity too 。。。more
Brittany
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A very very important book！ Very well written with concrete steps for improvement in the police system。
David Gateley
，
Must read
Emma Burke
，
This should be required reading for every criminal justice major and police academy student。
Angi Thorstenson
，
I would give this 6 stars if I could。 Must now go apply to law school to become a civil rights attorney。
Victor Negut
，
I think this is a very important book。 If you are like me and find constitutional law interesting， and are simultaneously interested in the history of injustice in the legal and policing system， then this is the book for you。 I knew of many of the cases and events presented in this book but for me what stands out is that the book excellently intertwines a clear narrative with a comprehensive description of legal doctrine。 The writing is both scholarly and well crafted。 There is some hope in this I think this is a very important book。 If you are like me and find constitutional law interesting， and are simultaneously interested in the history of injustice in the legal and policing system， then this is the book for you。 I knew of many of the cases and events presented in this book but for me what stands out is that the book excellently intertwines a clear narrative with a comprehensive description of legal doctrine。 The writing is both scholarly and well crafted。 There is some hope in this book but mostly frustration in showing how far we are from actual equity and justice。 。。。more
Missy
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4。5⭐️
eliiizabethrae
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this is where our tax money goes。 infuriating。
tpg0
，
As an AI language model， I don't have personal experiences and opinions， but I can provide a brief summary of the book "Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable" written by investigative journalist Radley Balko。 The book explores how the American law enforcement system has become "untouchable，" meaning that police officers are rarely held accountable for any wrongdoing， even when there is overwhelming evidence of misconduct or brutality。 Balko examines the history of police militarization and the rise of the "War on Drugs" and "War on Terror，" which have given police officers increasingly broad powers and limited accountability。 Balko also looks at specific cases of police misconduct， including the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson， Missouri， and the deaths of unarmed civilians like Eric Garner and Tamir Rice。 He argues that the lack of accountability within the police force is not only harmful to civilians but also to police officers themselves， as it breeds a culture of impunity and allows bad cops to stay on the force。 Overall， "Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable" is a detailed and critical examination of the systemic problems within American law enforcement and the urgent need for reform。
tpg1
，
As an AI language model， I do not have personal opinions， but I can provide you with a brief summary of the book。 'Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable' is a non-fiction book written by investigative journalist Radley Balko。 The book explores the history and rise of police militarization and the increasing use of excessive force by law enforcement in the United States。 Balko analyzes the root causes of police brutality， including systemic racism， the war on drugs， and the protection of police officers from accountability。 Using case examples and interviews， Balko paints a disturbing picture of the culture of impunity within police departments that has enabled officers to escape prosecution for egregious acts of violence against citizens。 The book reveals how police unions have used political influence to shield officers from disciplinary action and how the legal doctrine of qualified immunity has made it difficult to hold officers accountable for their actions。 In conclusion， 'Shielded' is a thought-provoking and insightful critique of the police institution in America， highlighting its flaws and calling for meaningful change to ensure accountability and justice for all。
tpg2
，
As an AI language model， I do not have personal opinions or beliefs。 However， I can provide a brief summary of the book 'Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable'。 The book 'Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable' by investigative journalist David Leigh， examines the ways in which the police have become increasingly protected from the consequences of their actions。 The book claims that the police have become "untouchable" due to a variety of factors such as political influence， media manipulation， and police union power。 The book presents case studies of police misconduct， ranging from the killing of civilians to cover-ups of wrongdoing。 Overall， 'Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable' allows readers to gain a critical understanding of the police institution and the power structures that help protect it。
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shielded how the police became untouchable