From Social Justice to Criminal Justice: Poverty and
the Administration of Criminal Law
NY: Oxford University Press, 2000

The economically deprived come into contact with the criminal court system in sorely disproportionate numbers. Should economic deprivation then figure in the administration of criminal law? And if so, how? This collection of original, insightful essays explores the troubling questions and ethical dilemmas inherent in this situation.

Do those living under economic and social hardship have the same social obligations as the more fortunate, or does their hardship in some way exempt them from the formal obligations of civil society? Does their encounter with the criminal justice system itself reflect their vulnerable - or even an ascribed - status? To what extent, if any, should we provide public resources for their passage through the criminal justice system? In different ways, the eleven essays in this collection illustrate not only the ideological diversity that informs debates about these questions, but also the extent to which a consensus might be reached. The essays examine such practical issues as heightened vulnerability, inadequate representation, and rotten social background defenses. They also explore whether it is possible and warranted for deprivation to be advanced as a claim mitigating criminal liability. Ultimately, they address whether and how the processes of criminal adjudication should be used to advance agendas of social justice.

The contributors, including well-known legal and political philosophers Philip Pettit, George Fletcher, and Jeremy Waldron, draw from a broad ideological spectrum to offer comprehensive coverage of these pressing issues. Making a vital contribution to the normative debate over the social and criminal justice nexus, From Social Justice to Criminal Justice will prove provocative reading for students and scholars of philosophy, criminal justice, and criminology.

Contributors

• Paul Butler (Law), George Washington University
• Judith Lynn Failer (Political Science), Indiana University, Bloomington
• George P. Fletcher (Law), Columbia University
• William C. Heffernan (Law), John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
• Barbara Hudson (Sociology), University of Central Lancashire
• Andrew A. Karmen (Sociology), John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
• John Kleinig (Philosophy), John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
• Loren Lomasky (Philosophy), Bowling Green State University, Ohio
• Stephen L. Morse (Law and Psychiatry), University of Pennsylvania
• Philip Pettit (Philosophy), Australian National University
• Dorothy Roberts (Law), Northwestern University
• Jeremy Waldron (Law and Philosophy), Columbia University