Social Justice, Criminal Justice

The Role of American Law in Effecting and Preventing Social Change
2. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-36861-0
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 302 Seiten, Format (B × H): 178 mm x 254 mm

Social Justice, Criminal Justice is the first book of its kind to fully integrate criminal justice practice (i.e. policing, courts, and corrections) with foundational theories of justice (i.e. including utilitarianism, libertarianism, egalitarianism, and virtue-based frameworks).

Grounded in legal thought and constitutional principles, the authors critically examine how discrimination became embedded in U.S. law, contributing to the perpetuation and maintenance of a system that excluded racial and ethnic minorities, the poor, women, and members of the LGBTQ community. At the same time, the book demonstrates how those very legal structures have been challenged, reinterpreted, and mobilized to dismantle injustice. The pursuit of a more just society continues today, in courtrooms, legislatures, and communities across the nation. Unlike any other book on the market, this book provides the reader with a solid understanding of how discrimination by race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexual orientation, and other extra-legal factors was created, but also how that discrimination continues to be overcome. What truly distinguishes this book is its direct and sustained connection between everyday criminal justice practice and the major theories of justice that shape American law and governance. Readers learn how each theory is rooted in constitutional values and how liberty, equality, happiness, and morality remain central to the American legal tradition.

Designed for undergraduate and graduate students in criminal justice, criminology, political science, law, public administration, and related fields, this groundbreaking work also serves as an essential resource for scholars examining criminal justice, criminal law, and the ongoing struggle for justice in the United States.

Zielgruppe

Academic, Adult education, and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Caravelis, Cyndy

Robinson, Matthew

Sefiha, Ophir

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Kriminalsoziologie
• Rechtswissenschaften Strafrecht Strafverfahrens- und -prozessrecht, Strafverteidigung und Opferschutz
• Rechtswissenschaften Strafrecht Kriminologie, Strafverfolgung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part 1: Law and Justice 1. Justice and Social Justice Theories and Human Rights 2. American Values, Founding Documents and Social Justice 3. Criminal Justice System: Law, Crime, Police, Courts and Corrections Part 2: Examining Categories of Difference 4. Social Construction of Difference, Stratification and Institutions 5. Race, Ethnicity, Discrimination and Social Justice 6. African Americans and the Law: Slavery, Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter 7. Latinos, Immigration and Social Justice 8. Native Americans, Legal History and Self-Determination 9. Asian Americans, Immigration, Discrimination and Criminal Justice 10. Social Class, Inequality and the Law 11. Women’s Rights and Social Justice 12. Sexuality, LGBTQ+ Rights and Social Justice 13. Summary and Conclusions

Über Autor(innen)

Cyndy Caravelis is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Western Carolina University. Her current research interests include social justice, inequality and crime, and interpersonal violence. Her research on sentencing inequality has been published in journals such as Justice Quarterly and the Journal of Quantitative Criminology. Recent work has included an examination of race and crime and the Black Lives Matter Movement. In addition to her academic endeavors, Caravelis has worked as a Crime Intelligence Analyst for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and as an expert witness on criminal sentence, as an academic instructor in correctional institutions. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for a domestic violence agency.

Matthew Robinson is a Professor of Government & Justice Studies at Appalachian State University. Robinson is the author of more than a dozen books on varied topics, including criminological theory, crime prevention, corporate crime, criminal justice, capital punishment, and the drug war. He is Past President of the North Carolina Criminal Justice Association and Past President of the Southern Criminal Justice Association.

Ophir Sefiha received his PhD in Justice Studies from Arizona State University and is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Western Carolina University. His research centers on the interplay among deviance and social control, media, and crime and has published articles on topics including media coverage of sport scandals, performance enhancing drugs and sport culture, and sport and social justice.