“[in 1998] I know my political ideas affect what I write but I've tried to follow the facts wherever they land. Every topic I've written about begins as a question. How do police departments behave? Why do bureaucracies function the way they do? What moral intuitions do people have? How do courts make their decisions? What do blacks want from the political system? I can honestly say I didn't know the answers to those questions when I began looking into them.” PeopleKnowsWayWantWritingI CanIdeasFactsPoliticalDecisionAnswersMoralWrittenLandFunctionPoliceCourtIntuitionHonestlyBehaveDepartmentTopicsBureaucracyPolitical SystemsPolice Department Author:James Q. Wilson
“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.” ThinkingWayHas BeensLostCasesCourtGuiltVariousCriminalsLawyerTrialsInnocenceManipulationOperaSoapProceduresVerdictSearch For TruthSoap OperasLengthyPreschoolMolestationLost Confidence Author:James Q. Wilson
“I will have an administrative system where there is no way to extricate red tape.” WayRedTapeAdministrativeRed LipstickRed Tape Author:James Q. Wilson
“There is no way the American public will sit still for the banning of or putting any significant restrictions on the kinds of guns they want.” WayWantKindStillsGunSignificantRestriction Author:James Q. Wilson
“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.” WayMeanProblemLawSolutionsConsequenceFunctionPoliceSolveGenuineDiscussionNeighborhoodPartnershipLaw EnforcementEnforcementVenting Author:James Q. Wilson
