Examines the causes for mass incarceration of Americans and calls for the reform of the bail system. Traces the history of bail, how it has come to be an oppressive tool of the courts, and makes recommendations for reforming the bail system and alleviating the mass incarceration problem.

The first comprehensive, international comparison of bail, this book examines how common-law countries condemn or provide alternatives to the American commercial bail bonding system. In his analysis of bail systems in 15 countries, F. E. Devine explains why other common-law countries consider the commercial provision of bail an obstruction of justice, and how they provide effective alternatives. Devine examines the pre-trial release alternatives in detail, arguing that they are at least as effective as commercial bail bonding. Devine provides a complete, comparative analysis of bail in Australia, Canada, England, India, New Zealand and South Africa. He also examines the systems of Ireland, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. He details the prohibition of, and statutory provisions against, commercial bail in these common-law countries, and then highlights four alternative approaches to pre-trial release: recognizance, criminal penalties, non-financial conditions, and non-commercial financial security deposits. Devine argues that these options are as effective as commercial bail. This book is valuable to scholars of criminal justice, criminology, comparative law, political science, and sociology, and to criminal justice reformers and professionals.

Most people in jail have not been convicted of a crime. Instead, they have been accused of a crime and cannot afford to post the bail amount to guarantee their freedom until trial. Punishing Poverty examines how the current system of pretrial release detains hundreds of thousands of defendants awaiting trial. Tracing the historical antecedents of the US bail system, with particular attention to the failures of bail reform efforts in the mid to late twentieth century, the authors describe the painful social and economic impact of contemporary bail decisions. The first book-length treatment to analyze how bail reproduces racial and economic inequality throughout the criminal justice system, Punishing Poverty explores reform efforts, as jurisdictions begin to move away from money bail systems, and the attempts of the bail bond industry to push back against such reforms. This accessibly written book gives a succinct overview of the role of pretrial detention in fueling mass incarceration and is essential reading for researchers and reformers alike.

In Breaking the Pendulum, Philip Goodman, Joshua Page, and Michelle Phelps debunk the pendulum model of American criminal justice, arguing that it distorts how and why punishment changes. From the birth of the penitentiary through recent reforms, the authors show how the struggle of players in the penal field shapes punishment.

The Toughest Beat uses the rise of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the state's powerful prison officers' union, to explore the actors and interests that have created, shaped, and protected the Golden State's sprawling, dysfunctional penal system -- and how it might yet be transformed.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.