The Washington Post reporter delivers a groundbreaking investigation into the nationโs crisis of indigent defenseโโa hugely important bookโ (New York Law Journal).
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A Nieman Reportโs Top Ten Investigative Journalism Books of 2013
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First published to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court decisionย Gideon v. Wainwright, which guaranteed all criminal defendants the right to legal counsel,ย Chasing Gideon offers a personal journey through our systemic failure to fulfill this basic constitutional right. Written in the tradition of Anthony Lewisโs landmark work Gideonโs Trumpet, it focuses on the stories of four defendants in four statesโWashington, Florida, Louisiana, and Georgiaโthat are emblematic of nationwide problems. Revealing and disturbing, it is โa book of nightmaresโ because it shows that the โโjustice systemโ that too often produces the exact opposite of what its name suggests, particularly for its most vulnerable constituentsโ (The Miami Herald).
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Following its publication, Chasing Gideon became an integral part of a growing national conversation about how to reform indigent defense in America and inspired an HBO documentary as well as the resource website GideonAt50.org.
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โChasing Gideon is a wonderful book, its human stories gripping, its insight into how our law is made profound.โ โAnthony Lewis, author ofย Gideonโs Trumpet
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