The Constitution and Criminal Procedure: First Principles [Hardcover]

Professor Akhil Reed Amar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 27, 1997

Under the banners of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, the Supreme Court has constitutionalized vast areas of criminal procedure law in ways that often reward the guilty while hurting the innocent. The author of this provocative book, a distinguished constitutional scholar, here reconceptualizes the basic foundations of the criminal procedure field.

"The Constitution and Criminal Procedure" is a vivid and provocative book -- an unlikely mixture of old-fashioned textual inquiry and deeply felt constitutional populism. This book should help invigorate modern debate over the rights of criminals and the rights of the people as a whole". -- Cass R. Sunstein, University of Chicago Law School

"Akhil Amar is the most creative legal scholar of his generation. In this path-breaking book, he proposes to reconstruct the entire discipline of constitutional criminal procedure from the ground up. Even those who are inclined to resist his daring conclusions cannot ignore his dazzling intellectual achievement". -- Jeffrey Rosen, Legal Affairs Editor, The New Republic

"A provocative and often brilliant book....an abstract architectural plan against which to evaluate today's imperfect reality of criminal justice". -- Alan Dershowitz, Slate

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (February 27, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300066783
• ISBN-13: 978-0300066784
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,260,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lays out criminal procedure for lay persons and lawyers, April 25, 2000

By 

Tung Yin (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Constitution and Criminal Procedure: First Principles (Paperback)

Akhil Amar, a distinguished law professor at Yale University, has written a very accessible book that discusses what's wrong with criminal procedure today.

Most people tend to think that the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments protect the guilty far more than society. For example, under the Exclusionary Rule, courts must suppress evidence that is obtained unlawfully, even if the suppression results in letting criminals free. (Studies show that in reality, the percentage of cases in which criminals escape prosecution on technicalities is quite low.) Notwithstanding the cries of the ACLU and other defenders of criminal rights (such as Alan Dershowitz), most people probably think this system is crazy.

Professor Amar explains why a common sense approach is in fact the best way to interpret these constitutional rights. His analysis involves both a plain reading of the language of the Amendments (a textual approach) as well as the historical understanding of these rights (a Framers' intent approach). Both ways of looking at the issue confirm his belief that the Supreme Court has made a number of wrong turns throughout the years.

Lay persons will not find this book too difficult or theoretical.

4.0 out of 5 stars very informative, February 3, 2009

By 

Robert W. Smith "Robert Smith, Ph.D." (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Constitution and Criminal Procedure: First Principles (Paperback)

Professor Amar has written a fine book in, "The Constitution and Criminal Procedure". Overly thin - the critical elements are included, but, not particularly helpful. Written 11 years ago, it's somewhat out of date. Tends to read the constitution in much more literal and original terms than most defense attorneys. Okay. I wish that it had been more comprehensive and thoughtful. I'd give this a solid B. I'd recommend reading some of the newer and more comprehensive and better researched texts.