The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy by Jessica Pishko

From Penguin / Dutton A leading authority on sheriffs in America delivers a deeply researched, urgently reported and sweeping work of journalism that investigates the impunity with which sheriffs act in policing their communities and the troubling role they play in American life, law enforcement and, increasingly, in national politics. While there are many excellent popular trade books on policing, on mass incarceration, on immigration, and on the far right, none of them put their focus squarely on the institution of the sheriff. The time for this book is now, and there is no better authority on the subject than Jessica Pishko.Sheriffs have become a flashpoint in the current politics of toxic masculinity, guns, white supremacy, and rural resentment. They played a role in the January 6th insurrection, their anti-federal government stance having aligned both with far-right militia groups and with former President Donald Trump, who embraced sheriffs as close allies in the fight against i