Justice Without Trial: Law Enforcement in Democratic Society (Classics of Law & Society)

Quid Pro Books presents the new Fourth Edition of JUSTICE WITHOUT TRIAL, the edition featuring a light blue or light green cover and adding a new Foreword by Candace McCoy. [NOTE: Print versions with a purple, white or gray cover are much earlier editions, even if this description appears on their product pages.] This is the acclaimed and foundational study of police culture and practice, political accountability, application of and obedience to the rule of law in stops and arrests, and the dilemma of law versus order in free societies — by the renowned sociologist Jerome Skolnick using innovative and influential research techniques in law and criminology. A respected scholar of the early law and society movement, Skolnick interviewed police and criminals, rode extensively with detectives and attended interrogations, and ultimately saw police conduct and mentality from the inside — all before such methodology became popular among researchers.

Every student of law and society knows this book. Now it is available again (as an ebook and in print) featuring a new Foreword by Candace McCoy and a new Preface by the author. Fifty years after his innovative research began, the continuity and change of policing and law is seen again, in all its richness and nuance.

Quality digital formatting includes active Table of Contents, Detailed Contents for subsections, legible tables, and linked footnotes. The print edition's extensive subject-matter Index is included, to enhance continuity across platforms and ease of use for students.

"Skolnick has produced a masterful account of the organization and operations of an American police department, an account which goes far beyond the pious platitudes and fiery denunciations usually heard on this subject. It also outdistances easily the ordinary administrative analysis, concentrating on the rewards and constraints policemen themselves see and respond to rather than those the efficiency experts think they ought to see and respond to. ...makes an important contribution...."
— Howard Becker, reviewing 1st ed. in Law & Society Review