David Cole conclusively shows that, despite a veneer of neutrality, race- and class-based double standards operate in virtually every criminal justice setting, from police behavior, to jury selection, to sentencing.

Cole, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and a leading thinker on constitutional law, argues that our system depends on these double standards to operate; such disparities allow the privileged to enjoy constitutional protections from police power without paying the costs associated with extending those protections across the board to minorities and the poor.

Each chapter includes specific suggestions for moving beyond the double standards we have tolerated, and the book concludes with a powerful argument for rebuilding the sense of community that is so essential to a safe and healthy society.

"David Cole conclusively shows that, despite a veneer of neutrality, race- and class-based double standards operate in virtually every criminal justice setting, from police behavior, to jury selection, to sentencing. Cole, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and a leading thinker on constitutional law, argues that our system depends on these double standards to operate; such disparities allow the privileged to enjoy constitutional protections from police power without paying the costs associated with extending those protections across the board to minorities and the poor." "Each chapter includes specific suggestions for moving beyond the double standards we have tolerated, and the book concludes with a powerful argument for rebuilding the sense of community that is so essential to a safe and healthy society."--BOOK JACKET.