Institutional Failures: Duke Lacrosse, Universities, the News Media, and the Legal System

The authors of this new collection argue that the many features of the now-infamous Duke University men’s lacrosse controversy are best understood in the context of the three major socio-legal institutions in which the drama played out. The legal system, Duke University, and the news media all struggled to respond to and handle the case, tinged as the events were with race, sex, violence, class, privilege, and notions and perceptions about sports. The problems, missteps, mistakes, and injus...