In this book, readers will take a fascinating journey with local prosecutors as they seek to obtain reasonable and appropriate case dispositions while preventing abuse and misuse of the law and protecting the civil rights of their jurisdictions.

• Offers understandable explanations of why outcomes vary so widely in the criminal justice system—for example, why one prosecutor's office uses drug treatment programs for first-time offenders and another seeks jail time

• Answers many of the questions raised in Ferguson, MO, and Staten Island, NY, about the role of prosecutors and their discretionary powers

• Presents specific well-known cases to enhance readers' understanding of the intended/unintended consequences of our adversarial system of justice

• Addresses in detail the complex relationships between various parts of the U.S. criminal justice system