Many Americans have lost confidence in the way our criminal courts assess guilt and innocence. Whatever one thinks of the verdicts, the recent trials of O.J. Simpson, Erik and Lyle Menendez, and various defendants in preschool molestation cases have been lengthy, lawyer-dominated soap operas in which the search for truth has been subordinated to the manipulation of procedures.

We live in a world shaped by the ambiguous legacy of the Enlightenment...[it] enlarged the scope of human freedom, prepared our minds for the scientific method, made man the measure of all things, and placed individual consent front and center on the political stage.

But no one has yet succeeded in reducing the size or scope of the federal government

Character is not the enemy of self-expression and personal freedom, it is their necessary precondition.

I mean that the function of the police is to solve problems that have law-enforcement consequences in a way that is based on a genuine partnership with the neighborhood in both the venting of the problem and the discussion of the solution.

Public order is a fragile thing, and if you don't fix the first broken window, soon all the windows will be broken.

One unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing.