Book Cover Reveal for The Highest Law in the Land

March 18, 2024

My posts on here have been a little sporadic of late, but that is because I have been busy working on the book! “The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threaten Democracy” will be released in September. For now, please admire the cover.

Preorders are incredibly important, so if you can, place it now. The book is available for preorder buying on all the websites.

For around a decade, I have been reading, reporting, and thinking about this book. While the book is about the rise of the so-called “constitutional sheriff” movement, it connects that movement to the mythology and political forces that have politicized law enforcement throughout America’s history. The history of sheriffs and their role in white supremacy, settler-colonialism, xenophobia, and the prison industrial complex provide an important lens into how we talk about the criminal system and why even well-intentioned efforts of reform continue to perpetuate the same mythologies.

I did a lot of driving around rural America for this book and only got pulled over once for driving too slow. I changed my mind about things many times. I watched and listened and read some more.

Most of all, I want to say that this book is for those who are impacted by the criminal legal system and sheriffs in particular. The media tends to prioritize the police in big cities, while the rest of the country gets somewhat ignored (or is reduced to conversations in diners). This book is for the people who suffer violence at the hands of sheriffs and their ilk, those who worry about their families and livelihoods, and those who keep fighting for a better future. These stories sometimes get lost in the media narrative, which tends to focus on the threats to the “rule of law.” Yet, it is that very “rule of law” that has made America the most incarcerated country in the world and has made it easy for far-right forces to weaponize the same.

Here’s to more regular posting! And please preorder the book.