Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: the rule of too much law -- Crime and punishment -- Two migrations -- "The wolf by the ear" -- The past -- Ideals and institutions -- The Fourteenth Amendment's failed promise -- Criminal justice in the gilded age -- A culture war and its aftermath -- Constitutional law's rise, three roads not taken -- Earl Warren's errors -- The rise and fall of crime, the fall and rise of criminal punishment -- The future -- Fixing a broken system -- Epilogue: taming the wolf -- Note on sources and citation form.

Rule of law has vanished in America's criminal justice system. Prosecutors decide whom to punish; most accused never face a jury; policing is inconsistent; plea bargaining is rampant; and draconian sentencing fills prisons with mostly minority defendants. The author looks to history for the roots of these problems - and solutions.