Crime and the Sacking of America: The Roots of Chaos. - book reviews

National Review, April 17, 1995 by William Wilbanks

ANDREW Peyton Thomas, a Harvard-educated lawyer who is currently an assistant attorney general for the state of Arizona, argues that America is experiencing a time of unprecedented random lawlessness that will lead, if unchecked, to the ``death of our civilization.'' The ``sacking'' of America by ``home-grown barbarians'' has resulted from the ``poisonous obsession with individual rights'' that has ``infected'' both liberalism and conservatism.

Conservatives may applaud Thomas's proposals to check the rise in crime, but they will wonder how his ``cures'' are tied to his ``causes.'' He presents few proposals to stop the slide into ``savage solipsism'' but does argue for the elimination of the adversary system (the highlight of the book), the exclusionary rule, the attorney - client privilege, the right against self-incrimination and the Miranda rule, the bar on evidence of past criminality, and the contingency fee. The author's most novel ideas include his proposal to mandate citizen involvement in a type of neighborhood-watch program and possibly to pass a Militia Act mandating citizen armament (Thomas was a member of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Posse).