Complex Justice: The Case of Missouri v. Jenkins [Hardcover]

Joshua M. Dunn (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807831395 | ISBN-13: 978-0807831397 | Publication Date: March 10, 2008

In 1987 Judge Russell Clark mandated tax increases to help pay for improvements to the Kansas City, Missouri, School District in an effort to lure white students and quality teachers back to the inner-city district. Yet even after increasing employee salaries and constructing elaborate facilities at a cost of more than $2 billion, the district remained overwhelmingly segregated and student achievement remained far below national averages.

Just eight years later the U.S. Supreme Court began reversing these initiatives, signifying a major retreat from Brown v. Board of Education. In Kansas City, African American families opposed to the district court's efforts organized a takeover of the school board and requested that the court case be closed. Joshua Dunn argues that Judge Clark's ruling was not the result of tyrannical "judicial activism" but was rather the logical outcome of previous contradictory Supreme Court doctrines. High Court decisions, Dunn explains, necessarily limit the policy choices available to lower court judges, introducing complications the Supreme Court would not anticipate. He demonstrates that the Kansas City case is a model lesson for the types of problems that develop for lower courts in any area in which the Supreme Court attempts to create significant change. Dunn's exploration of this landmark case deepens our understanding of when courts can and cannot successfully create and manage public policy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A helpful explanation of where desegregation went awry. . . . Dunn writes with an economical and elegant style. . . . Both useful and pleasant to read."
-- Missouri Historical Review

"Deeply researched, well informed, and clearly written. . . . A premier case study of race and education in the 1980s and 1990s."
-- The Journal of Southern History

"A rich and well-researched recounting of one of the most significant judicial efforts at school desegregation--conveying the legal, political, and human dimensions of that saga. . . . Offers fresh insight into the important questions lying ahead for judicial policymaking, racial equality, and educational reform."
-- Law and History Review

"A masterly job of bringing this complex case to life. . . . Dunn's refusal to finger a convenient scapegoat forces the reader to confront a number of the disconcerting dilemmas of school desegregation."
-- Claremont Review of Books

"A premier case study of race and education in the 1980s and 1990s."
-- Journal of Southern History

"Dunn navigates his way through the local politics and personalities involved in ###Missouri v. Jenkins# with sympathetic insight."
-- Australasian Journal of American Studies

"Enlightening. . . . A highly informative and readable book that nicely blends legal and policy analysis. Complex Justice provides the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the historical, political, and social issues involved in Missouri v. Jenkins."
-- Law & Politics Review

"A nicely written volume about a lesser-known case."
-- Choice

About the Author

Joshua M. Dunn is assistant professor of political science at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (March 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807831395
• ISBN-13: 978-0807831397
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,437,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Expensive "Justice" in Kansas City, April 13, 2011

By 

Ronald E. Parsons "Ancient Reader" (Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Complex Justice: The Case of Missouri v. Jenkins (Hardcover)

<Complex Justice> is about a relatively recent but little remembered (unless you happen to have been a Kansas City, MO or Missouri taxpayer) case in which a federal judge took control of a large city's school system to bring black students' test scores up to the level of white students'. Though he (1) ordered Kansas City, MO taxes to be raised, (2) diverted Missouri state taxes to the Kansas City (MO) School District, and (3), caused around two BILLION dollars to be spent to "upgrade" the school system which served mostly black students, the results were zero. It was a waste of 2 BILLION dollars by a federal court which thought it had all of the answers about how to raise black test scores -- and which didn't mind going through 2 BILLION dollars of taxpayers' money like a drunk at the racetrack in the losing gamble on an impossible result..

If the court and its "experts" had read massive psychological data on record at the time, they would have known that test scores depend on IQ which is (1), largely inherited and cannot be raised significantly, and (2), that black IQ in the U.S. is around 15 points (1 standard deviation) lower than white IQ on the bell curve. A good argument can be made that the court and its so-called experts were grossly negligent in taking the actions they took.

Joshua Dunn, author of <Complex Justice> did an excellent job in putting the account of the case, Missouri v. Jenkins, clearly and succinctly into book form easily understood by anyone having the sense to read it. This book is unlikely to be a best seller because it is not the type to attract a wide audience. Never mind. If you are attracted to read this review, you have enough brains to read and understand this excellent account of why central governments and high courts should never be trusted to legislate/decide morality and spend public money in useless attempts to remake society.

Thank you Joshua Dunn for your work in writing an excellent book about a shameful episode in U.S. legal history.