Privilege and Punishment: How Race and Class Matter in Criminal Court

Clair pulls the curtain back on how poverty shapes one of the most vulnerable moments of a person's life: when they are faced with the daunting task of fighting for their freedom. It is not a matter of just how good the lawyer is, as Clair notes, it is also about whether the defendant trusts that lawyer to do their job. Clair's words are a haunting clarion call not just for reform within an unequal criminal justice system (even forcing us to grapple with the absence of justice in it) but also larger structural inequalities in society more general that make certain people's having one or many days in court more likely. This book is a must read for anyone interested in race, inequality, criminology, culture as well as just plain good writing.

A compelling and beautifully written exploration of how racial and class inequalities are embedded in the attorney-client relationship and result in inequality throughout the criminal legal system and well beyond.Dr. Clair’s extensive fieldwork, including observations and interviews, in the Boston courts provides a window into the experiences and perspectives of all involved in the court system. Clair clearly shows how unjust criminal court interactions and relationships are, and how differently they play out across race and class lines.A timely, accessible, and important read for scholars, practitioners, activists, and those affected by the system directly.

This book is written so well. It offers a surprising account of how race and class matter in criminal court. Among privileged people, the author shows how they are rewarded for deferring to their attorneys as they fight their court case. But among poor people who have many reasons to distrust the system, the author shows how their attempts to advocate for themselves backfire and leads court officials and even their own attorneys to punish them. A must-read book for anyone who cares about the criminal-legal system.

This book did what any great academic book should do: it made me think about issues of criminal justice in a different way. Well-researched, thoughtful, and easy to read.

Phenomenal book! I think everyone should read this. It touched on such important things that most people are unaware of in our justice system.

Must read for any defender!

Tedious, terribly repetitive, & frankly, doesn’t anything new to existing scholarship on bias in the criminal justice system. I read up to page 63(out of 195 total) & couldn’t bear to stay with it. Reads like an overly verbose academic dissertation with an endless recitation of the phrase “in this study” or “in this research.” I was very excited by the title & by a description that noted the research took place in the Boston area, where I live, but sadly disappointed by the time I got a third of the way through the. Needless to say I wouldn’t recommend buying the book.

Matthew Clair's book provides some deep insights into the racial and economic disparities in our criminal justice system. He appears to have done some pathbreaking research--and some exceptional writing.One interesting takeaway is this: If you're paying for an attorney, trust them.