The Machinery of Criminal Justice
"In The Machinery of Criminal Justice, author Stephanos Bibas presents a bold and inspiring vision of what criminal justice and the punishment imposed in its name can and should be about. Criminal justice is ideally the process, and punishment ideally the vehicle, through which wronged and wrongdoer restore the bond they once shared.  Restoration, not retribution or deterrence, is the rock upon which Bibas builds."--Stephen P. Garvey, Professor of Law, Cornell Law School"The Machinery of Criminal Justice is an exceptional volume that gives us the big picture on a scholarly subject too often hobbled by technical focus and narrow thinking. Always accessible and always interesting, Bibas asks some hard questions and gives some creative answers. Common morality, lay justice, mercy, re-integrative punishment - these are the issues at the cutting edge of today's crime policy debates, but Bibas shows us that they are also the historical roots of American criminal justice."--Paul H. Robinson, Colin S. Diver Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania,author, with Michael Cahill, of Law Without Justice"Th[e] embrace of populism as a counterweight to expertise sets Bibas apart. The academics and professionals who work in criminal justice routinely look for ways to insulate criminal punishment from popular passions; they hope to take advantage of specialized professional insights. Bibas offers a bracing challenge to this received expert wisdom."--Ronald Wright, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Book Review"Through a series of articles spanning more than a decade, Professor Stephanos Bibas has proven himself a bold and penetrating critic of America's system of criminal procedure. His theme has been the gap between the morality embodied in our substantive criminal law and the morality (or, perhaps more accurately, the lack thereof) embodied in our procedural rules and practices. This theme now gets its fullest exposition in his provocative new book, The Machinery of Criminal Justice."-- Michael M. O'Hear, University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online"His vision is a powerful one, he defends it with clarity and grace, and every idea he expresses is capable of starting an important conversation."--Andrew Taslitz, Jotwell