Book description
From the authors of the acclaimed Ladies and Gentlemen of the
Jury, and featuring some of the most important cases in criminal
law, The Devil's Advocates is the final volume of a must-have
trilogy of the best closing arguments in American legal history.
Criminal law is considered by many to be the most exciting of the
legal specialties, and here the authors turn to the type of dramatic
crimes and trials that have so captivated the public -- becoming
fodder for countless television shows and legal thrillers. But the
eight cases in this collection have also set historical precedents and
illuminated underlying principles of the American criminal justice
system.
Future president John Adams makes clear that even the most despised
and vilified criminal is entitled to a legal defense in the argument
he delivers on behalf of the British soldiers who shot and killed five
Americans during the Boston Massacre.
The always-controversial temporary-insanity defense makes its debut
within sight of the White House when, in front of horrified onlookers,
a prominent congressman guns down the district attorney over an
extramarital affair.
Clarence Darrow provides a ringing defense of a black family charged
with using deadly force to defend themselves from a violent mob -- an
argument that refines the concept of self-defense and its
applicability to all races.
The treason trial of Aaron Burr, accused of plotting to
"steal" the western territories of the United States and
form a new country with himself as its head, offers a fascinating
glimpse into a rare type of prosecution, as well as a look at one of
the most interesting traitors in the nation's history.
Perhaps the best-known case in the book is that of Ernesto
Miranda, the accused rapist whose trial led to the Supreme
Court decision requiring police to advise suspects of their rights to
remain silent and to have an attorney present -- their Miranda rights.
Each of the eight cases presented here is given legal and cultural
context, including a brief historical introduction, a biographical
sketch of the attorneys involved, highlights of trial testimony,
analysis of the closing arguments, and a summary of the trial's impact
on its participants and our country. In clear, jargon-free prose,
Michael S Lief and H. Mitchell Caldwell make these pivotal cases come
to vibrant life for every reader.
"Makes for unexpectedly engaging reading -- not
only the arguments themselves (each an example of rhetorical mastery)
but also the history provided to give each argument context."
-- The American Lawyer
Michael S Lief is a senior deputy district
attorney in Ventura, California. A former newspaper editor, he was a
submarine driver for the U. S. Navy during the Cold War. H.
Mitchell Caldwell is a professor at Pepperdine University School
of Law. A former deputy district attorney, he specializes in
death-penalty litigation before the California Supreme Court.
