Intuitions of Justice and the Utility of Desert

Research suggests that people of all demographics have nuanced and sophisticated notions of justice. Intuitions of Justice and the Utility of Desert sketches the contours of a wide range of lay judgments of justice, touching many if not most of the issues that penal code drafters or policy makers must face. In this intriguing new book, Paul H. Robinson demonstrates that judicial decisions that deviate from what the public actually sees as just can seriously undermine the American...
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Research suggests that people of all demographics have nuanced and sophisticated notions of justice. Intuitions of Justice and the Utility of Desert sketches the contours of a wide range of lay judgments of justice, touching many if not most of the issues that penal code drafters or policy makers must face. In this intriguing new book, Paul H. Robinson demonstrates that judicial decisions that deviate from what the public actually sees as just can seriously undermine the American criminal justice system's integrity and legitimacy. By ignoring the intuitions of justice held by the communities they serve, legislators, policymakers, and judges undermine the relevance of the criminal justice system and reduce its strength and legitimacy, creating a gap between what justice a community needs and what justice a court or law prescribes.