Synopses & Reviews
Read the Authors' Op-Ed on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sin No More offers a vivid examination of some of the most morally and politically disputed issues of our time: abortion, gay rights, assisted suicide, stem cell research, and legalized gambling. These are moral values issues, all of which are hotly, sometimes violently, contested in America. The authors cover these issues in depth, looking at the nature of efforts to initiate reforms, to define constituencies, to mobilize resources, to frame debates, and to shape public opinion—all in an effort to achieve social change, create, or re-write legislation. Of the issues under scrutiny only legalized gambling has managed to achieve widespread acceptance despite moral qualms from some.
Sin No More seeks to show what these laws and attitudes tell us about Americans' approach to law and morality, and about our changing conceptions of sin, crime and illegality. Running through each chapter is a central tension: that American attitudes and laws toward these victimless crimes are going through a process of normalization. Despite conservative rhetoric the authors argue that the tide is turning on each of these issues, with all moving toward acceptance, or decriminalization, in society. Each issue is at a different point in terms of this acceptance, and each has traveled different roads to achieve their current status.
Review
“Worthwhile for the careful, nuanced studies of specific questions that continue to define contemporary US life.”
-Choice,
Review
“Sin No More represents a brilliant interweaving of the complexities of economic interests, public opinion, court and legislative action. The authors demonstrate the impact of these forces in understanding the recent normalization of gambling and the steady progress in gay rights. They show there are also early signs of achieving death with dignity and freedom for stem cell research, but access to abortion is increasingly in jeopardy. This book is sure to have a major impact on debate, research and policy in these areas.”
-John F. Galliher,co-author of The Criminology of Edwin Sutherland
Review
“Despite the intense culture wars and the ascendancy of religious and cultural conservatism over the past forty years, Dombrink and Hillyard demonstrate that there has also been a marked increase in tolerance for behavior long thought to be immoral. The process of change has been uneven and episodic, a process the authors term ‘problematic normalization. But there has been substantial change. The authors' findings are counter-intuitive. But they are convincing. This is an important book, and it should find a wide audience.”
-Malcolm M. Feeley,co-author of Judicial Policy Making and the Modern State
Review
“Sin No More is superbly written, moving across each topic with freshness and sensitivity.”
“In this elegant and nuanced account, Dombrink and Hillyard explore how the depth of America's commitment to liberty and individualism has co-existed oddly with the forceful anti-libertarianism of the religious right. Their analysis of the bedrock values that America cares most about has important implications beyond the specific issues the authors address, making this an important resource for anyone wishing to understand the evolution of the national conscience, and its influence upon law and politics.”
“Sin No More represents a brilliant interweaving of the complexities of economic interests, public opinion, court and legislative action. The authors demonstrate the impact of these forces in understanding the recent normalization of gambling and the steady progress in gay rights. They show there are also early signs of achieving death with dignity and freedom for stem cell research, but access to abortion is increasingly in jeopardy. This book is sure to have a major impact on debate, research and policy in these areas.”
“Despite the intense culture wars and the ascendancy of religious and cultural conservatism over the past forty years, Dombrink and Hillyard demonstrate that there has also been a marked increase in tolerance for behavior long thought to be immoral. The process of change has been uneven and episodic, a process the authors term ‘problematic normalization.’ But there has been substantial change. The authors' findings are counter-intuitive. But they are convincing. This is an important book, and it should find a wide audience.”
“Worthwhile for the careful, nuanced studies of specific questions that continue to define contemporary US life.”
Review
"In Rape and the Culture of the Courtroom, Taslitz (a former prosecutor) is concerned to show how and why police, prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys use their discretion to circumvent legal reforms in rape law." -Hypatia,
Review
“In this elegant and nuanced account, Dombrink and Hillyard explore how the depth of America's commitment to liberty and individualism has co-existed oddly with the forceful anti-libertarianism of the religious right. Their analysis of the bedrock values that America cares most about has important implications beyond the specific issues the authors address, making this an important resource for anyone wishing to understand the evolution of the national conscience, and its influence upon law and politics.”
-Roger Magnusson,author of Angels of Death: Exploring the Euthanasia Underground
Synopsis
Read the Authors' Op-Ed on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sin No More offers a vivid examination of some of the most morally and politically disputed issues of our time: abortion, gay rights, assisted suicide, stem cell research, and legalized gambling. These are moral values issues, all of which are hotly, sometimes violently, contested in America. The authors cover these issues in depth, looking at the nature of efforts to initiate reforms, to define constituencies, to mobilize resources, to frame debates, and to shape public opinion all in an effort to achieve social change, create, or re-write legislation. Of the issues under scrutiny only legalized gambling has managed to achieve widespread acceptance despite moral qualms from some.
Sin No More seeks to show what these laws and attitudes tell us about Americans approach to law and morality, and about our changing conceptions of sin, crime and illegality. Running through each chapter is a central tension: that American attitudes and laws toward these victimless crimes are going through a process of normalization. Despite conservative rhetoric the authors argue that the tide is turning on each of these issues, with all moving toward acceptance, or decriminalization, in society. Each issue is at a different point in terms of this acceptance, and each has traveled different roads to achieve their current status."
Synopsis
Rape law reform has been a stunning failure. Defense lawyers persist in emphasizing victims' characters over defendants' behavior. Reform's goals of increasing rape report and conviction rates have generally not been achieved. In
Rape and the Culture of the Courtroom, Andrew Taslitz locates the cause of rape reform failure in the language lawyers use, and the cultural stories upon which they draw to dominate rape victims in the courtroom.
Cultural stories about rape, Taslitz argues, such as the provocatively dressed woman "asking for it," are at the root of many unconscious prejudices that determine jury views. He connects these stories with real-life examples, such as the Mike Tyson and Glen Ridge rape trials, to show how rape stereotypes are used by defense lawyers to gain acquittals for their clients.
Building on Deborah Tannen's pathbreaking research on the differences between male and female speech, Taslitz also demonstrates how word choice, tone, and other lawyers' linguistic tactics work to undermine the confidence and the credibility of the victim, weakening her voice during the trial. Taslitz provides politically realistic reform proposals, consistent with feminist theories of justice, which promise to improve both the adversary system in general and the way that the system handles rape cases.
About the Author
John Dombrink is Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine.The co-authors of
Dying Right: The Death With Dignity Movement. Daniel Hillyard is Assistant Professor of Law and Society at Southern Illinois University. The co-authors of Dying Right: The Death With Dignity Movement.