Seven Deadly Sins

Mark W. Denniston, Bruce Bayley, Molly Sween, David R. Lynch

"Seven Deadly Sins presents seven core constitutional virtues, introduced to the reader via their mirror opposites, which the authors call the "seven deadly constitutional sins" of the criminal justice system. These negative attributes or "sins" are: intolerance, subterfuge, intrusiveness, craftiness, favoritism, cruelty, and subservience to authority. Some of these negative attributes are housed entirely in one amendment to the constitution (e.g. cruelty) while others span several areas of the Bill of Rights (e.g., subservience to authority). Each negative trait is presented in two companion chapters. The first of the two chapters introduces the negative trait (e.g., "intolerance") and establishes its constitutional place via a presentation of various, appellate law decisions written in language suitable for an undergraduate student. The second, or companion, chapter then presents...