The Habits of Legality

The Habits of Legality provides a broad survey of American criminal justice in a time of troubles. It asks the central questions: In what degree are the justice system's functions guided by ascertainable legal norms? How accountable are public officials who wield the rigorous sanctions of the penal law? Where the habits of legality are weak, how can they be invigorated? A number of factors combine to constrict the rule of law in the criminal process. A crime epidemic of alarming proportions places enormous burdens on the system and gives rise to a "war on crime" that often oversteps the limits of legality. The institutional structure of the United States is severely fragmented, rendering coherent penal policy difficult or impossible and often freeing public officials of accountability for their uses of public authority. Even the courts and legislatures, the primary law-making agencies of society, often operate to weaken rather than strengthen the rule of law. Francis A. Allen asserts the vital and continuing importance of the legality principle to democratic societies, discusses how the habits of legality in American criminal justice can be strengthened, and demonstrates that a closer adherence to the rule of law may not only protect the rights of persons more efficiently, but also contribute to more rational and effective penal policy. The Habits of Legality offers solutions on how to revitalize the rule of law. It will be of interest to scholars and students of criminology and law, as well as the general reader concerned with issues of criminal justice.

Autorentext

Francis A. Allen is Edson R. Sunderland Professor of Law emeritus at the University of Michigan Law School, and Professor of Law and Huber C. Hurst Eminent Scholar emeritus at the University of Florida. He is a former President of the Association of American Law Schools, a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, and a recipient of the American Bar Foundation's Career Research Award. His previous works include The Borderland of Criminal Justice: Essays in Law and Criminology, The Crimes of Politics: Political Dimensions of Criminal Justice, Law, Intellect, and Education, and The Decline of the Rehabilitative Ideal.

Zusammenfassung
The Habits of Legality provides a broad survey of American criminal justice in a time of troubles. It asks the central questions: In what degree are the justice system's functions guided by ascertainable legal norms? How accountable are public officials who wield the rigorous sanctions of the penal law? Where the habits of legality are weak, how can they be invigorated?A number of factors combine to constrict the rule of law in the criminal process. A crime epidemic of alarming proportions places enormous burdens on the system and gives rise to a &quote;war on crime&quote; that often oversteps the limits of legality. The institutional structure of the United States is severely fragmented, rendering coherent penal policy difficult or impossible and often freeing public officials of accountability for their uses of public authority. Even the courts and legislatures, the primary law-making agencies of society, often operate to weaken rather than strengthen the rule of law. Francis A. Allen asserts the vital and continuing importance of the legality principle to democratic societies, discusses how the habits of legality in American criminal justice can be strengthened, and demonstrates that a closer adherence to the rule of law may not only protect the rights of persons more efficiently, but also contribute to more rational and effective penal policy. The Habits of Legality offers solutions on how to revitalize the rule of law. It will be of interest to scholars and students of criminology and law, as well as the general reader concerned with issues of criminal justice.