Conviction Machine - by Harvey Silverglate & Sidney Powell (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In 2009, Harvey A. Silverglate, a prominent criminal defense and civil liberties lawyer, published his landmark critique of the federal criminal justice system, Three felonies a day: how the feds target the innocent. In 2014, Sidney Powell, a former federal prosecutor in three districts under nine United States Attorneys from both political parties and who has been lead counsel in 500 federal appeals, published her landmark indictment of the system, Licensed to lie: exposing corruption in the Department of Justice, after she witnessed appalling abuses by prosecutors--more than a decade after she entered private practice. Now these two leading authorities have combined their knowledge, experiences, and talents to produce a much-needed and long-awaited blueprint for reforming the way business is conducted within the Department of Justice and in the federal criminal courts. Both Powell and Silverglate decided to join forces to write this essential and long-awaited book in order to answer the questions and the challenges that each of them has faced over the past several years: 'OK,' they've been told. 'We understand your criticisms. Now how about telling us what has to be done to restore justice to federal criminal justice.' This collaboration is their response"

Book Synopsis

Prosecutors can "indict a ham sandwich," we hear, and laugh at the absurdity. Yet the joke captures a truth: federal prosecutors wield enormous power over us all. And the federal criminal justice system is so stacked in favor of the government that shocking numbers of innocent people have been sent to prison.

In Conviction Machine, two leading authorities combine their knowledge and experience to describe the problems within the Department of Justice and in the federal courts--and to offer solutions. Both have already published books exposing flaws and abuses in the system. Harvey A. Silverglate, a prominent criminal defense and civil liberties lawyer, showed that every one of us is vulnerable to criminal prosecution in Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent. Sidney Powell, a former federal prosecutor in three districts under nine United States attorneys from both political parties and lead counsel in more than 500 federal appeals, witnessed appalling abuses by prosecutors that prompted her to write Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice.

Together, Powell and Silverglate shine a light on the defects of the system: overzealous prosecutors, perjury traps, negligent judges, perverse limits on self-defense, vague and overabundant criminal statutes, insufficient requirements for criminal intent, and no accountability for prosecutors. Most important, they provide a much-needed blueprint for reforming the Department of Justice and the criminal justice system, including actions an average citizen can take to help restore justice.

Review Quotes

"Read this book before you talk to the feds in an investigation. If it doesn't terrify you, read it again."

--Walter Olson, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute; author of Schools for Misrule and The Rule of Lawyers

"Silverglate and Powell convincingly demonstrate that federal prosecutorial abuses are not anomalous but routine, which makes them a pressing concern for every American. None of us are safe when law enforcement officials, imbued with extraordinary power, are free to lie, entrap people, extort pleas, and suppress exculpatory evidence, without fear of being held to account. Read this book and take its warnings seriously."

--Wendy Kaminer, author and lawyer

"The Conviction Machine is a must-read for every American who cares about personal liberty and being protected from those who should be protecting us but sometimes become oppressors rather than defenders."

--Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House

"It takes a strong stomach to read this exposé of how far America's criminal justice system has departed from its constitutional moorings. Whether it is bribing snitches, manipulating grand juries, or coercing guilty pleas by threatening to indict a defendant's family members, there appear to be few lines that law enforcement will not cross in pursuit of the almighty conviction. Refusing to accept the inevitability of the status quo, Powell and Silverglate offer a compendium of reforms that, if implemented, would help put the system on the long road to redemption."

--Clark Neily, Vice President for Criminal Justice at the Cato Institute

About the Author

Sidney Powell is a former federal prosecutor and has also represented individuals, corporations, and governments in federal appeals for more than twenty years. She is a past president of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit, and a member of the American Law Institute. Powell contributes articles on government misconduct and prosecutorial misconduct to a variety of outlets, and she appears frequently on multiple television stations as a legal commentator.

Harvey A. Silverglate is counsel to Boston's Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP, specializing in criminal defense, civil liberties, and academic freedom/student rights law. He is cofounder and member of the board of directors of FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education), and he wrote the "Freedom Watch" column for the fabled Boston Phoenix "alternative weekly" newspaper until it ceased publication in 2013. His work has appeared in the National Law Journal, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times Book Review, the Boston Globe, and elsewhere. Silverglate is co-author of The Shadow University with Alan Charles Kors.