WBA Member Charles J. Ogletree, Jr.’s
Latest Book To be Published This Month

The Presumption of Guilt
The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Race, Class and Crime in America

By Charles Ogletree
Publication date: June 22, 2010

Shortly after noon on Tuesday, July 16, 2009, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., MacArthur Fellow and Harvard professor, was mistakenly arrested by Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley for disorderly conduct after Officer Crowley responded to a call about a suspected breaking and entering. The ensuing media firestorm ignited debate across the country. The Crowley-Gates incident was a clash of absolutes, underscoring the tension between black and white, police and civilians, and the privileged and less privileged in modern America. Charles Ogletree, one of the country’s foremost experts on civil rights, uses this incident as a lens through which to explore issues of race, class, and crime, with the goal of creating a more just legal system for all.

Working from years of research and based on his own classes and experiences with law enforcement, the author illuminates the steps needed to embark on the long journey toward racial and legal equality for all Americans.

Advanced praise for THE PRESUMPTION OF GUILT:

"A great teacher is one who seizes on every great teaching moment to explain and educate.  Charles Ogletree is such a teacher.  He has seized on the very public arrest of Professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates to teach Americans important lessons about the Constitution, the continuing relevance of race in America and the ease with which an incident can escalate into a major event.  Ogletree was there, knows all the participants and has written a brilliant book from which all Americans can learn."  --Alan Dershowitz, author of Trials of Zion

“The Presumption of Guilt” is both informative and instructive. Informative because it provides a very accurate description of the events of that day and instructive because it identifies the critical areas which must be addressed in order to prevent racial profiling and other disparities in the criminal justice system." -- Ronald E. Hampton, Executive Director, National Black Police Association

"Charles Ogletree possesses one of the most brilliant legal minds in American culture and here he bridges the ivory tower academy and the messy world in a rare and unique manner. Don't miss this book." --Cornel West, Princeton University