The first inside look at how the elite white-collar crime defense bar goes about its work. Mann's book reveals that these lawyers see their main task as controlling information about their clients, especially the flow of harmful information to government investigators. As both lawyer and sociologist, Mann was able to gain access only rarely available to scholars. His book raises important questions for the bar and for the administration of justice.

"A pioneering study. . . . This is a splendid book. I think it is destined to become the classic study of the white-collar crime defense bar."...

This is the first book to describe in detail how judges sentence white-collar criminals. Drawing from lengthy, in-depth interviews with fifty-one judges in seven federal districts, the authors explore such topics as the information available to sentencing judges and how they work with it; the principles of harm, blameworthiness, and consequence that affect judges' decisions; and the conceptual problems that make it difficult to convert a basic agreement on principle into a system of consistent sentences.

"Sitting In Judgment will continue to have an impact on the academic and...