Description
SIMON & SCHUSTER The Devil by Michael S Lief H. Mitchell Caldwell
In The Devils Advocateswe turn our attention to the types of crimes and trials that have so captivated the public cases that have also helped to illuminate underlying principals of the American criminal justice system. From a Tennessee sheriff turning a blind eye to a mob hellbent on lynching a prisoner; to a single mother protesting a warrantless police search of her home the cases in this book illustrate the drama behind the legal decisions that control our criminal justice system. Future President John Adams illustrates the principle 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 alwayscontroversial temporary insanity defense makes its debut within sight of the White House when a prominent congressman guns down the district attorney over an extramarital affair in front of horrified onlookers. Clarence Darrow is represented with 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 selfdefense and its applicability to all races. The treason trial of Aaron Burr (who also killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel) for 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 perhaps the most interesting traitor in the nations history. And perhaps the most famous and significant of precedentsetting cases that of Ernesto Miranda an accused rapist who confessed to the crime without having been notified of his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself (and his right to counsel) is analyzed in detail. These arguments and the cases motivating them provide the reader with a ringside seat to gripping drama as well as to the shaping of the legal system we thrill to and curse at today.show more