Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Fostered Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System
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- Create Date：2021-09-28 06:51:04
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Erwin Chemerinsky
- ISBN：1631496514
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Summary
Presumed Guilty， like the best-selling The Color of Law， is a “smoking gun” of civil rights research， a troubling history that reveals how the Supreme Court enabled racist policing and sanctioned law enforcement excesses。 The fact that police are nine times more likely to kill Black men than other Americans is no accident; it is the result of an elaborate body of doctrines that allow the police and courts to presume that suspects are guilty before being charged。
Demonstrating how the pro-defendant Warren Court was a brief historical aberration， Erwin Chemerinsky shows how this more liberal era ended with Nixon’s presidency and the ascendance of conservative justices， whose rulings―like Terry v。 Ohio and Los Angeles v。 Lyons―have permitted stops and frisks， limited suits to reform police departments， and even abetted the use of choke holds。 Presumed Guilty concludes that an approach to policing that continues to exalt “Dirty Harry” can be transformed only by a robust court system committed to civil rights。
Demonstrating how the pro-defendant Warren Court was a brief historical aberration， Erwin Chemerinsky shows how this more liberal era ended with Nixon’s presidency and the ascendance of conservative justices， whose rulings―like Terry v。 Ohio and Los Angeles v。 Lyons―have permitted stops and frisks， limited suits to reform police departments， and even abetted the use of choke holds。 Presumed Guilty concludes that an approach to policing that continues to exalt “Dirty Harry” can be transformed only by a robust court system committed to civil rights。
Reviews
Dan Curiosity Hour
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Presumed Guilty is a must-read and provides very important context regarding crucial Supreme Court decisions and how these decisions have perpetuated systemic racism， especially via policing。 He writes about these cases in a very understandable way and the way he is able to link together the history of these cases， helps to bring into clear focus the problems of policing。 He also shades important nuance to past court eras that have otherwise been overly simplified as bad/good by too many。We inte Presumed Guilty is a must-read and provides very important context regarding crucial Supreme Court decisions and how these decisions have perpetuated systemic racism， especially via policing。 He writes about these cases in a very understandable way and the way he is able to link together the history of these cases， helps to bring into clear focus the problems of policing。 He also shades important nuance to past court eras that have otherwise been overly simplified as bad/good by too many。We interviewed him for the The Curiosity Hour Podcast （episode 194） and he was able to talk about process of creating the book and explain some key court cases from the book。 We also asked him his thoughts on some other contemporary issues。 He is as fascinating to listen to as he is to read and we enjoyed the discussion with him: https://soundcloud。com/thecuriosityho。。。（also available free on Apple Podcasts， Google Podcasts， Spotify， Amazon Music， Soundcloud， TuneIn， iHeartRadio， Stitcher， Podbean， Overcast， PlayerFM， Castbox， and Pocket Casts）。Note: I voluntarily requested， read， and reviewed this book。 Thank you to the author， publisher， and NetGalley for sending me a temporary digital advance reading copy/advance review （ARC） galley of this book in exchange for an honest review。 As always， my opinions are my own and do not represent my co-host or the podcast。 I request， read， and review many books prior to publication to explore possible future guests for the podcast。 I wish we could interview the author of every one of these books because I'm so impressed by the creativity， thoughtfulness， and wisdom shared through the temporary books I get through NetGalley。 。。。more
Erik
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Acclaimed legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky uses Presumed Guilty to tell the story of a system of unjust policing that has been entrenched and strengthened by a Supreme Court that refuses to hold it accountable。With the exception of the few years of the Warren Court， the U。S。 Supreme Court has shown a penchant for supporting police officers over the constitutional civil rights of criminal suspects and defendants。 Chemerinsky gives a painstakingly detailed account of all the Supreme Court rulings o Acclaimed legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky uses Presumed Guilty to tell the story of a system of unjust policing that has been entrenched and strengthened by a Supreme Court that refuses to hold it accountable。With the exception of the few years of the Warren Court， the U。S。 Supreme Court has shown a penchant for supporting police officers over the constitutional civil rights of criminal suspects and defendants。 Chemerinsky gives a painstakingly detailed account of all the Supreme Court rulings on policing and what appears through this analysis is deeply disturbing。 As the Court has only grown more conservative since the late 60s， the Court has also increasingly put our 4th， 5th， and 6th Amendment rights in jeopardy。 The Court has made it next to impossible to hold police officers， departments， and cities liable for police abuse。 The Roberts Court is gunning to eliminate the few remaining 4th Amendment protections against warrantless searches and seizures。 And the Court has slowly eroded any protections that Miranda rights were supposed to provide。 What appears is a conservative Court that has single-handedly created a system of policing that puts all our civil rights in jeopardy。For a reader with no knowledge of the legal history surrounding policing， Presumed Guilty is essential reading。 For readers who already know much of this history - and know the few avenues available for police reform - this book will offer little new substance。 At times far too repetitive， this book can be frustrating both in form and content and the closing recommendations Chemerinsky offers - legislative and state-based solutions - leave little hope and no new ideas。 But this book is essential reading nonetheless， and I highly encourage you to read it if this is a topic you have only tangentially been following。 。。。more
Starlight Wymore
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The Supreme Court has not issued a holding that limits police power in decades。 Quite the opposite， it has continuously expanded the ability of police officers to act with impunity， repeatedly violating the constitutional rights of their victims with no consequences whatsoever。 Furthermore， the Court has consciously ignored the effect their rulings have on people of color， despite the widely available data amassed over the years confirming the use of racial profiling among police officers。In Pre The Supreme Court has not issued a holding that limits police power in decades。 Quite the opposite， it has continuously expanded the ability of police officers to act with impunity， repeatedly violating the constitutional rights of their victims with no consequences whatsoever。 Furthermore， the Court has consciously ignored the effect their rulings have on people of color， despite the widely available data amassed over the years confirming the use of racial profiling among police officers。In Presumed Guilty， Chemerinsky demonstrates how the Warren Court was the last to have any true consideration for the rights of criminal defendants and how the conservative Counts since have consistently eroded the rights of those on trial。 He cites numerous cases to support his assertion that the Supreme Court not only does nothing to address racial profiling， but goes above and beyond to encourage the practice。 I really enjoyed reading this book。 In 2017， National Jurist magazine named Chemerinsky the most influential person in legal education in the United States。 He is a law school legend and I was thrilled to review this book。I absolutely recommend this book。 Well-researched and thought-provoking， it should be required reading for law students， especially those focusing on criminal law。 Scheduled for publication in August 2021， I encourage you to pick this one up and do your part in educating yourself。Thanks to Erwin Chemerinsky， W。 W。 Norton and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review。 。。。more
Luis Cuesta
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I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway。 Chemerinsky´s essay does a good job criticing a judiciary committed to advancing the police state。 The book offers an elaborate body of doctrines that allow the police and courts to presume that suspects are guilty before being charged。 This vision has created a racist policing and sanctioned law enforcement excesses that are affecting a lot of aspects of daily life in the US。 The solution to this endemic problem that Chemerinsky offers is a robust c I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway。 Chemerinsky´s essay does a good job criticing a judiciary committed to advancing the police state。 The book offers an elaborate body of doctrines that allow the police and courts to presume that suspects are guilty before being charged。 This vision has created a racist policing and sanctioned law enforcement excesses that are affecting a lot of aspects of daily life in the US。 The solution to this endemic problem that Chemerinsky offers is a robust court system committed to civil rights。 。。。more
Shaun
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I received a free ARC copy through a Goodreads Giveaway。A good look at how past decisions create the difficulties we， as a society， face in the present。 A lot of precedent is set by the Supreme Court but a lot of the cases the Court decline to hear are declined because there is no precedent。 Which is exactly why the Court should hear the cases。Having studied some criminal law and criminal procedure in college， many of the cases cited throughout the book are very familiar to me。 Some I only learn I received a free ARC copy through a Goodreads Giveaway。A good look at how past decisions create the difficulties we， as a society， face in the present。 A lot of precedent is set by the Supreme Court but a lot of the cases the Court decline to hear are declined because there is no precedent。 Which is exactly why the Court should hear the cases。Having studied some criminal law and criminal procedure in college， many of the cases cited throughout the book are very familiar to me。 Some I only learned of for the first time。 That may impact the readability for users not used to the language of the Court and criminal law。 The reading can be quite dry at times。 It is still important to learn the history if you are going to try and solve the issues of the present。 Chemerinsky does lay out a very linear timeline of the Court cases （and some the Court declined to hear） and their impact on current policing procedures and limitations （or lack thereof）。 His explanations include both direct quotes from cases while also giving summaries in easier language to understand。 He also gives brief background information on the cases， to give the reader a complete picture。 The last chapter is dedicated to suggestions of how current issues can be remedied to make policing more balanced in how it approaches Constitutional rights and civil rights。 If you think there are no current issues with how policing is done in the United States you likely won't enjoy this book unless you come in with an open mind。 If you do want to know how we got to where we are。。。this is a fantastic historical reference。 。。。more
Andréa
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