The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy
$32.00
43 in stock
Refresh Stock LevelInformation
Shipping
We currently offer free shipping on all orders over $100. Standard media mail shipping is $7.50 plus $1 for each additional book. Electronics are $35 shipping on all items.
Books
We get our books from a national distributor and although we strive to present up to date stock counts, stock constantly fluctuates. We perform a stock check when you add your book to the cart to ensure that it is available for shipping from the distributor. You can also check stock status by clicking the refresh stock link on the product page for the most up to date stock at the distributor. If an item is on backorder, you may place an order and we will update you on the estimated ship date as soon as we can confirm with the distributor.
Return & exchange
If you are not satisfied with your purchase you can return it to us within 14 days for an exchange or refund. More info.
Assistance
Can’t find what you’re looking for? We have access to over 13 million titles, reach out and see if we can help!
Contact us on (575) 322-6867, or email us at business@rabsbooks.com.
| Weight | 1.52 lbs |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 9.27 × 6.36 × 1.48 in |
Description
Shortlisted for Columbia Journalism School’s J. Anthony Lukas Award
A Publishers Lunch NonFiction Buzz Book Named Most Anticipated by Los Angeles TimesA leading authority on sheriffs investigates the impunity with which they police their communities, alongside the troubling role they play in American life, law enforcement, and, increasingly, national politics.
The figure of the American sheriff has loomed large in popular imagination, though given the outsize jurisdiction sheriffs have over people’s lives, the office of sheriffs remains a gravely under-examined institution. Locally elected, largely unaccountable, and difficult to remove, the country’s over three thousand sheriffs, mostly white men, wield immense power–making arrests, running county jails, enforcing evictions and immigration laws–with a quarter of all U.S. law enforcement officers reporting to them. In recent years there’s been a revival of “constitutional sheriffs,” who assert that their authority supersedes that of legislatures, courts, and even the president. They’ve protested federal mask and vaccine mandates and gun regulations, railed against police reforms, and, ultimately, declared themselves election police, with many endorsing the “Big Lie” of a stolen presidential election. They are embraced by far-right militia groups, white nationalists, the Claremont Institute, and former president Donald Trump, who sees them as allies in mass deportation and border policing. How did a group of law enforcement officers decide that they were “above the law?” What are the stakes for local and national politics, and for America as a multi-racial democracy? Blending investigative reporting, historical research, and political analysis, author Jessica Pishko takes us to the roots of why sheriffs have become a flashpoint in the current politics of toxic masculinity, guns, white supremacy, and rural resentment, and uncovers how sheriffs have effectively evaded accountability since the nation’s founding. A must-read for fans of Michelle Alexander, Gilbert King, Elizabeth Hinton, and Kathleen Belew.
Dutton
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.