Overcriminalization: The Limits of the Criminal Law 1st Edition

by Douglas Husak (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-0195399011

ISBN-10: 0195399013

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The United States today suffers from too much criminal law and too much punishment. Husak describes the phenomena in some detail and explores their relation, and why these trends produce massive injustice. His primary goal is to defend a set of constraints that limit the authority of states to
enact and enforce penal offenses. The book urges the weight and relevance of this topic in the real world, and notes that most Anglo-American legal philosophers have neglected it. Husak's secondary goal is to situate this endeavor in criminal theory as traditionally construed. He argues that many of
the resources to reduce the size and scope of the criminal law can be derived from within the criminal law itself-even though these resources have not been used explicitly for this purpose. Additional constraints emerge from a political view about the conditions under which important rights such as
the right implicated by punishment-may be infringed. When conjoined, these constraints produce what Husak calls a minimalist theory of criminal liability. Husak applies these constraints to a handful of examples-most notably, to the justifiability of drug proscriptions.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a rich and thought-provoking account of a much undertheorized and yet hugely important issue...Husak's book signals a bold attempt to 'shake up' the discipline and to reignite our interest in the core issues of justice, wrong, blame, desert, and proportionality with which we should be
concerned."--Vanessa E. Munro, New Criminal Law Review

"Trying to stem the tide of fatuous law that emanates from our incontinent legislatures, at least in the US and the UK, is a luckless and thankless task. I admire Husak enormously for his willingness to take the task on, and for the lively, sensible, and good-natured tone that he brings to it. I
also admire his anti-authoritarian and anti-managerial moral instincts, sadly at odds with the spirit of the age. But most of all I admire Husak as a professional philosopher of law. His work is clear, thorough, patient, ingenious, insightful, informed, imaginative, and highly distinctive.
Overcriminalization is no exception. Even those who are pessimistic about the possibility of deliberately effecting political change through academic work have a huge amount to learn from this wise, timely, and well-written book."--John Gardner, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

''Critically important and easily readable.Highly recommended."--CHOICE

"Douglas Husak embarks upon a provocative and urgent search for a theoretical framework that will enable legislators to identify which of the growing number of criminal law interventions in our daily lives are justified." --Vanessa E. Munro, University of Nottingham

"It is impossible in a review of this length to do justice to Husak's multilayered exploration of the phenomenon of modern overcriminalization and the theoretical frameworks that might be invoked to redress the injustice that it has generated. This is a rich and thought-provoking account of a much
under theorized and yet hugely important issue."--Vanessa E. Munro, University of Nottingham

About the Author

Douglas Husak is Professor of Philosophy and Law at Rutgers University.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (November 30, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 231 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195399013
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195399011
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,870,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #395 in Philosophy of Law
- #930 in Jurisprudence (Books)
- #1,563 in Criminal Law (Books)

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11 ratings

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Boris Yakubchik

A must-read for anyone who cares about law

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2014

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This book is written by an excellent philosopher, but keep in mind it's a book written by a philosopher. It might be a more-difficult read than you're used to (because philosophy demands slow, careful reading).

Nevertheless, even compared to non-philosophy books it is very lucid.

In this book you'll get excellent arguments that (at least in the United States) we have too many laws - too much criminalization. You'll get arguments that too many behaviors are considered criminal, and why it's a problem we should all be concerned with.

Read this book (and others by the same author - they are great)!

11 people found this helpful

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jerry kendall

First. the earlier questions are focused on fiction. ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2015

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First. the earlier questions are focused on fiction. And its a book. It is inanimate. It can not be violent.... The substance of this philosophical book is the authors attempt to develop criteria to decide when criminalization is appropriate. It is well written. A bit redundant in spots, but clear and compelling in its argument. The author sets out 7 criteria and then supports them with understandable examples and arguments that make a technical matter clear.

2 people found this helpful

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steve collins

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2015

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A gift

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porthos

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2015

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Excelent book.

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DL McConaghy

Best book onthe philosophy of criminal law I've read in years.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2014

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I can't say enough in praise of this book, so I'll keep it short and sweet: this book is brilliant! Husak approaches the subject with a refreshing degree of candour and common sense. Building on Mill's principle of liberty and non-interference with individual rights, he shows how our ability to choose what is good for ourselves has been eroded, and how the erosion continues. If you're annoyed, like I am, by constant needless legislation and being told that the government knows better than you how you should lead your own life, this is the book for you.

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Overcriminalization: The Limits of the Criminal Law 1st Edition

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