Monday September 20, 2021; 8:07 AM EDT
- A new book is out by Melvin I. Urofsky, arguing that Supreme Court has long protected police forces from meaningful accountability. The NY Times review is very interesting about long-standing patterns of the Court's behavior.#
- I'm also interested in the reviewer's praise for the writing. The author, an academic, does not limit himself to the levels of abstraction that calcify many pieces of academic writing:#
- "He bolsters his argument with examples from his own experiences, and his telling of the cases always starts with the people involved."#
- We recognize more than one good reason to argue from experience, either one's own or the witness of others.#
- More lively writing often ensues.#
- New kinds of evidence are preserved and presented.#
- The reader's imagination, heart, and mind have a greater chance to be engaged.#
- A reader can tell the stories to others, often very clearly and movingly.#
- Stories, witness, voices matter in all these ways and more. I should try for a fuller list.#