A Feminist Critique of Police Stops

Description

A Feminist Critique of Police Stops examines the parallels between stop-and-frisk policing and sexual harassment. An expert whose writing, teaching and community outreach centers on the Constitution's limits on police power, Howard Law Professor Josephine Ross, argues that our constitutional rights are a mirage. In reality, we can't say no when police seek to question or search us. Building on feminist principles, Ross demonstrates why the Supreme Court got it wrong when it allowed police to stop, search, and sometimes strip-search people and call it consent. Using a wide range of sources - including her law students' experiences with police, news stories about Eric Garner, and Sandra Bland, social science and the work of James Baldwin - Ross sheds new light on policing. This book should be read by everyone interested in how Court-approved police stops sap everyone's constitutional rights and how this form of policing can be eliminated.

Josephine Ross is a professor of law at Howard University School of Law, Washington DC. She was a public defender in Massachusetts for seven years, then served as an interim executive director of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders before beginning a teaching career at Boston College Law School. She has published numerous law review articles, first on marriage equality and then on topics involving criminal (in)justice. For two decades, she supervised law students in the criminal trial courts of Boston and Washington, DC.

'Josephine Ross has blessed us with a highly readable and spot-on account of stop and frisk from the perspective of its survivors. A Feminist Critique of Police Stops is a provocative mash up in which #metoo meets #blacklivesmatter and makes the world a better place.' Paul Butler, Georgetown University Law Center, author of Chokehold: Policing Black Men 'A compelling critique of the indignities of routine police stops. Using feminist principles such as the need for bodily integrity and consent, Ross exposes how the criminal justice system weakens the constitutional rights of all of us.' Naomi Cahn, The George Washington University Law School and co-author of Shafted: The Fate of Women in a Winner-Take-All World and Red Families v. Blue Families 'Josephine Ross has written a book that is stunning in its originality in applying the principles of feminist theory to the issues of policing and especially the law of stop and frisk. Through many interviews, Ross is able to show what police actually do and the harms it causes. She offers great ideas for changing the law.' Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the Berkeley School of Law, and author of We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century 'A Feminist Critique of Police Stops is a critical book for these times.' Michele Goodwin, UC Irvine School of Law and author of Policing the Womb 'This compelling examination of how law distorts the reality of police stops and frisks is essential reading for anyone interested in restoring the integrity of our Bill of Rights.' Benjamin Todd Jealous, civil rights leader and former head of the NAACP 'What if every young person of color knew, when stopped by police, to say (and to believe), 'With all respect, I do not consent to searches?' Read this book to imagine a different and better world.' Martha Minow, Harvard University, and author of When Should Law Forgive? 'As someone who advocates for intersectional approaches to equity, I was moved by Josephine Ross's recognition of how our current system of policing further marginalizes already underrepresented communities. Her thoughtful analysis uses a feminist framework to skillfully carve a path forward.' Imani Rupert-Gordon, Executive Director of National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) 'This book will be of interest to scholars in law, policy, race and ethnic relations, sociology, human rights, and social justice, and should become one of the key frameworks from which interactions with police are understood.' Eileen Avery, Ethnic and Racial Studies