Full Description
Poor Justice: How the Poor Fare in the Courts provides a vivid and informative account of what happens when the legal system decides cases in areas crucial to the poor's economic and social well-being, including government benefits, child welfare, homelessness, the mental health system, education, and the criminal justice system. Drawing from court room observations, court decisions and supplementary legal and case materials, this book spans the street level justice of administrative hearings and lower courts (where people plead for welfare benefits or for a child not to be taken away), the mid-level justice of state courts (where advocates argue for the right to shelter for the homeless and for the rights of the mentally disabled), and the high justice of the Supreme Court (where the battle for school integration hPoor Justice: How the Poor Fare in the Courts provides a vivid portrait and appraisal of how the lives of poor people are disrupted or helped by the judicial system, from the lowest to the highest courts. Drawing from court room observations, court decisions, and other material, this book spans the street level justice of administrative hearings and lower courts (where people plead for welfare benefits or for a child not to be taken away), the mid-level justice of state courts (where advocates argue for the right to shelter for the homeless and for the rights of the mentally disabled), and the high justice of the Supreme Court (where the battle for school integration has represented a route out of poverty and the stop and frisk cases illustrate a route to greater poverty, through the mass incarceration of people of color). Poor Justice brings readers inside the courts, telling the story through the words and actions of the judges, lawyers, and ordinary people who populate it. It seeks to both edify and criticize. Readers will learn not only how courts work, but also how courts sometimes help - and often fail - the poor.
as represented a route out of poverty). Poor Justice brings readers inside the courts, telling the story through the words and actions of the judges, lawyers, and ordinary people who populate it. It seeks to both edify and criticize. Readers will learn not only how courts work, but also how courts sometimes help, but often fail, the poor.
Contents
Introduction
Part I: Street Level Justice
One: The Rules of Engagement
Two: Welfare Fair Hearings
Three: Child Maltreatment Proceedings
Four: The Justice of Street Level Justice
Part II: Justice for the Many: Social Reform Litigation
Five: Courts as a Catalyst for Social Change
Six: Protecting or Coercing Persons with Mental Disabilities
Seven: Legal Advocacy for the Homeless
Eight: The Justice of Social Reform Litigation
Part III: High Justice: The Supreme Court
Nine: The Supreme Court
Ten: Race, Education and the Constitution
Eleven: Criminal Justice and Racial Profiling
Twelve: The High Justice of the Supreme Court
Conclusion
References
Index
