Publisher Description

This book investigates the problems and possibilities of plural legal orders through an in-depth study of the relationship between the state and customary justice systems in Vanuatu. It argues that there is a need to move away from the current state-centric approach to law reform in the South Pacific region, and instead include all state and non-state legal orders in development strategies and dialogue. The book also presents a typology of models of engagement between state and non-state legal systems, and describes a process for analysing which of these models would be most advantageous for any country in the South Pacific region, and beyond.

Punishment policies and practices in the United States today are unprincipled, chaotic, and much too often unjust. The financial costs are enormous. The moral cost is greater: countless individual injustices, mass incarceration, the world's highest imprisonment rate, extreme disparities, especially affecting members of racial and ethnic minority groups, high rates of wrongful conviction, assembly line case processing, and a general absence of respectful consideration of offenders' interests, circumstances, and needs. In Doing Justice, Preventing Crime, Michael Tonry lays normative and empirical foundations for building new, more just, and more effective systems of sentencing and punishment in the twenty-first century. The overriding goals are to treat people convicted of crimes justly, fairly, and even-handedly; to take sympathetic account of the circumstances of peoples' lives; and to punish no one more severely than he or she deserves. Drawing on philosophy and punishment theory, this book explains the structural changes needed to uphold the rule of law and its requirement that the human dignity of every person be respected. In clear and engaging prose, Michael Tonry surveys what is known about the deterrent, incapacitative, and rehabilitative effects of punishment, and explains what needs to be done to move from an ignoble present to a better future.

The book shows how moral theory can challenge and improve international criminal law and how extreme cases can challenge and improve mainstream theory.

"Martin and Jurik provide a clear body of evidence illuminating the gendered nature of criminal justice occupations. Of the multitude of feminist works on this topic, this is one of the best analyses available." —CRIMINAL JUSTICE REVIEW Doing Justice, Doing Gender: Women in Legal and Criminal Justice Occupations is a highly readable, sociologically grounded analysis of women working in traditionally male dominant justice occupations of law, policing, and corrections. This Second Edition represents not only a thorough update of research on women in these fields, but a careful reconsideration of changes in justice organizations and occupations and their impact on women′s justice work roles over the past 40 years. New to the Second Edition: Introduces a wider range of workplace diversity and experiences: An expanded sociological theoretical framework grasps the interplay of gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation in understanding workplace identities and inequities. Provides a better understanding of the centrality of gender issues to understanding the legal and criminal justice system in general: This edition further connects women′s work experiences to social trends and consequent changes in legal system and in criminal justice agencies. Offers a more international perspective: More material is included on women lawyers, police, and correctional officers in countries outside the U.S. Intended Audience: This is an excellent supplemental text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses such as Gender & Work; Women and Work; Sociology of Work and Occupations; Women and the Criminal Justice System; and Gender Justice in the departments of Sociology, Criminal Justice, Women′s Studies, and Social Work.

An uncompromising appraisal of the unique penal crisis affecting Britain and other Western-style democracies.