The Wire - 9781611631968

Widely regarded as one of the best dramatic series recently broadcast on television, David Simon's The Wire--which fictionally recreated the institutional dynamics surrounding the street level drug trade of Baltimore, Maryland--also "highlights crucial legal and policy issues that are unfortunately absent from the law school curriculum," writes Gershowitz (William & Mary Law School), such as the law of wiretapping, the police use of informants, the legalization or decriminalization of drugs, the role of the media in directing police attention, the manipulation of information in police reports, and prisoner reintegration issues. It also, she writes, provides different perspectives on more standard issues that are covered in traditional law school courses. With The Wire thus positioned as the "perfect vehicle for thinking about the most important criminal justice issues of our generation," Gershowitz presents this textbook as way to supplement the TV show with the doctrinal law that applies to the issues raised by the show, including wiretapping, drug possession, search and seizure, confession, sentencing, et cetera, and as a means to consider the overarching policy questions raised by the show such as drug legalization, prisoner reentry, resource allocation, media influence, police honesty, crime statistic manipulation, police brutality, and the use of information. Excerpted cases, articles, and other sources are complemented by references to particular scenes within the show as illustration of the issues raised. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)