Justice Abandoned: How the Supreme Court Ignored the Constitution and Enabled Mass Incarceration

Justice Abandoned: How the Supreme Court Ignored the Constitution and Enabled Mass Incarceration

Author: Cato Institute April 4, 2025 Duration: 1:01:07

With less than 5 percent of the world’s population and almost a quarter of its prisoners, the United States indisputably has a mass incarceration problem. The Constitution contains numerous safeguards that check the state’s power to lock people up. Yet since the 1960s, the Supreme Court has repeatedly disregarded these limits, bowing instead to unfounded claims that adherence to the Constitution is incompatible with public safety.


In Justice Abandoned, Rachel Barkow highlights six Supreme Court decisions that paved the way for mass incarceration. If the Court were committed to protecting constitutional rights and followed its standard methods of interpretation, none of these cases would have been decided as they were, and punishment in America would look very different than it does today.


Barkow shows that sound public policy, fundamental fairness, and the originalist methodology embraced by a majority of sitting justices demands overturning the unconstitutional policies underlying mass incarceration.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Step inside the Cato Institute's renowned Washington, D.C. events without leaving your desk. The Cato Event Podcast brings the lecture hall and briefing room directly to you, featuring unfiltered audio from live policy forums, author discussions, and Capitol Hill briefings. Each episode captures the substance of these gatherings, where scholars, policymakers, and leading thinkers engage in detailed conversations about liberty, governance, and current affairs. You'll hear substantive debates and thoughtful commentary that cut through the noise of daily headlines, offering deeper analysis on the issues shaping legislation and public discourse. This isn't a produced studio show; it's a front-row seat to the kind of candid exchanges that happen when experts gather to challenge conventional wisdom. The Cato Institute, through this podcast, provides a direct conduit to these discussions, emphasizing a perspective rooted in individual freedom, limited government, and free markets. Tune in for a raw, intellectual experience that goes beyond soundbites, perfect for anyone who wants to understand the foundational ideas behind today's political news.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Cato Event Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Competencies in Civil Discourse: Episode 7 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:38
In this episode, Erec Smith speaks with Andrew Hartz, a practicing clinical psychologist and Founder, President, and Executive Director of the Open Therapy Institute. Hartz and Smith discuss the detrimental effect that i…
Dissolving the Education Department: The Role of Congress [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:38
One of the hottest topics on the Hill is the future of the Department of Education and the current administration’s education priorities. As national conversations grow around school choice, federal overreach, and the ro…
US Immigration Policy in 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:51
The current administration has enacted the most active immigration policy in American history, issuing unprecedented executive orders, attempting to deport one million people a year, and imposing new restrictions on lega…
Removing Barriers to Capital Formation Panel II [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:58
Join us for an afternoon dedicated to discussing barriers to capital formation and the solutions to break through them. Small businesses are central to the US economy. Not only are small businesses the primary generators…
Removing Barriers to Capital Formation Panel I [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:31
Join us for an afternoon dedicated to discussing barriers to capital formation and the solutions to break through them. Small businesses are central to the US economy. Not only are small businesses the primary generators…
AI Policy Today and Beyond: A Fireside Chat with Rep. Rich McCormick [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:34
Join us at the Cato Institute for an in-depth fireside chat featuring Congressman Rich McCormick and Matt Mittelsteadt, Cato policy fellow in technology. This timely conversation will explore the evolving landscape of ar…
NATO 2025 Summit: Rebalancing the Transatlantic Relationship [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:32:15
NATO member states will gather June 24–26 in the Netherlands for the 2025 NATO Summit. This comes as NATO member states’ disparate interests, competing priorities, and varying perspectives on the future of Ukraine threat…