WHY THE INNOCENT PLEAD GUILTY AND THE GUILTY GO FREE

A veteran of the bench hands down sobering judgments about the U.S. judicial system.

We want to think that when we have our day in court, justice will be served. In this debut collection of essays, Rakoff, drawing on two-plus decades of experience as a federal judge, suggests otherwise, describing a system “beset by hypocritical pretentions, conundrums, paradoxes, and shortcomings.” Our courts, he argues, function differently than how the Founding Fathers intended, contrary to what is portrayed in the media and in opposition to the notions of most Americans. The author comes at his topic from varying angles, arguing that eyewitness testimony is dubious; the death penalty is far from error-free (and more expensive than incarceration); and the amazing forensics portrayed on TV shows are not necessarily based on reliable science. Saliently, he also shows that many accused enter into pleas in which prosecutors hold all the cards, and a compelling minihistory of Chief Justice John Marshall illustrates how his court set the standard for a judicial system “more deferential to the executive branch…than to the legislative branch,” the echoes of which are heard today. Some of these pieces began as articles in the New York Review of Books and remain in that style. Although Rakoff sometimes uses unnecessarily dense language—e.g., “the future deterrent value of successfully prosecuting individuals far outweighs the prophylactic benefits of imposing compliance measures that are often little more than window-dressing”—a law degree is not required to follow the narrative, which never slips into screed. As the author makes clear, our justice system affects all of us. We pay dearly—financially and otherwise—when people are imprisoned falsely or for longer than they should be. In addition to laying out the flaws, Rakoff offers practical solutions. Even if you do not agree with his answers, it’s hard to refute his case that we have serious problems that deserve attention.

Not every citizen will read this book, but we’d be better off if a good many did.