Judicial Policy Making and the Modern State: How the Courts Reformed America's Prisons

by Malcolm M. Feeley , Edward L. Rubin

• ISBN13: 9780521593533
• ISBN10: 0521593530
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-06-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Between 1965 and 1990, federal judges in almost all of the states handed down sweeping rulings that affected virtually every prison and jail in the United States. Without a doubt judges were the most important prison reformers during this period. This book provides an account of this process, and uses it to explore the more general issue of the role of courts in the modern bureaucratic state. It provides detailed accounts of how the courts formulated and sought to implement their orders, and how this action affected the traditional conception of federalism, separation of powers, and the rule of law.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Introduction	1	(26)
Part I. The Case of Judicial Prison Reform	27	(118)
An Overview of Judicial Prison Reform	30	(21)
Two Classic Prison Reform Cases: Arkansas and Texas Arkansas	51	(45)
Three Variations on the Theme: Colorado State Penitentiary, the Santa Clara County Jails, and Marion Penitentiary	96	(49)
Part II. The Theory of Judicial Policy Making	145	(244)
Defining the Problem, Identifying the Goal, and Rejecting the Principle of Federalism	149	(55)
Creating Doctrine, Choosing Solutions, and Transforming the Rule of Law	204	(93)
Implementing the Solution, Muddling Through, and Ignoring the Separation of Powers Principle	297	(39)
Conclusion	336	(26)
Coda: Assessing the Successes of Judicial Prison Reform	362	(27)
Notes	389	(88)
Index	477