Barry Latzer (born 1945) is an American criminologist and emeritus professor of
criminal justice at the
John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
He previously taught at the
Graduate Center, CUNY. He also prosecuted and defended accused criminals while teaching both there and at John Jay. In 2016, his book ''The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America'' was published by
Encounter Books. In 2021 ''The Roots of Violent Crime in America: From the Gilded Age through the Great Depression'' was published by LSU Press. In 2022 his book ''The Myth of Overpunishment: A Defense of the American Justice System and a Proposal to Reduce Incarceration While Protecting the Public'' was published by Republic Book Publishers.
He is an expert on
core curricula
In education, a curriculum (; plural, : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to ...
and has lectured and written extensively on
capital punishment as well as state constitutional criminal procedure law.
Latzer's work outside the university included service as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn (1985-1986), and as a member of the Indigent Defendants Appeals Panel in Manhattan (1987-1990). He also served (2003-2005) as a Senior Consultant for the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a higher education reform organization, where he managed projects involving core curricula. Latzer was a member of the board of trustees of the National Association of Scholars from 2004 to 2017, and a co-founder and member of the executive committee of the CUNY Association of Scholars (1997-2003).
Barry Latzer has also appeared numerous times on TV and podcasts being interviewed and discussing his books.
Education
Latzer received his Ph.D. in
political science from the
University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1977, and his J.D. from
Fordham University
Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...
in 1985.
Books
*''State Constitutions and Criminal Justice'' (
Greenwood Press
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...
, 1991)
[
*''State Constitutional Criminal Law'' ( Clark, Boardman, Callaghan, 1995)][
*''Death Penalty Cases'' ( Butterworth-Heinemann, 200)][
*''The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America'' (Encounter Books, 2016)]LSU Press
The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of American Univer ...
, 2021)
*''The Myth of Overpunishment: A Defense of the American Justice System and a Proposal to Reduce Incarceration While Protecting the Public''
Description.
(Republic Book Publishers, 2022)
Other writing
"Don't Call Rioters 'Protesters'" (commentary)
, '' The Wall Street Journal'', June 4, 2020; for context, the ''WSJ'' lead online news headline the same day wa
"Protesters Gather to Memorialize George Floyd"
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latzer, Barry
Living people
1945 births
John Jay College of Criminal Justice faculty
University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Social and Behavioral Sciences alumni
American criminologists
Fordham University School of Law alumni
CUNY Graduate Center faculty