Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury: Greatest Closing Arguments in Modern Law [Hardcover]

Michael S Lief (Author), H. Mitchell Caldwell (Author), Ben Bycel (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0684836610 | ISBN-13: 978-0684836614 | Publication Date: June 2, 1998

In the hands of a skilled trial lawyer, the closing argument offers the courtroom's greatest dramatic possibilities. It is the advocate's last opportunity to convince the jury of their version of the "truth" before the defendant's fate is sealed. It is the art, essentially, of the storyteller. Complete with analysis and biographical profiles of the lawyers involved, this volume gathers the finales of some of the most celebrated cases in history. Included are: the climactic closes to the Nuremberg War Trials; Gerry Spence's crusade against Kerr-McGee Nuclear Power Plant after the mysterious death of Karen Silkwood; Vincent Bugliosi's successful prosecution of cult leader Charles Manson and his followers; the acquittal of John Delorean despite video evidence of his offences; and the prosecution resulting from the Mai Lai massacre.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Anyone who's ever watched Perry Mason knows that the closing argument is a very important part of a big legal case. The closing argument is the "game point" of law, the time when lawyers pull out all the stops on the cajoling and the litigating. Michael S. Lief and his coauthors have collected the closing arguments from 10 noteworthy cases in this volume, introducing each speech with background information on the trial and commentary on the lawyer's technique. In these pages, readers get front-row seats to some of the most riveting trials in this century, including the Charles Manson murder trial, Karen Silkwood's wrongful-death suit, and the trial of the Chicago Seven.

Because the authors chose to include all the courtroom interruptions in the transcript, the Manson summation makes for especially lively reading. Manson and his codefendants repeatedly spoke out of turn during prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's statement, saying things like "You are going to be eaten up by your own lie" and "Even if I have never been in the Gotham Bank!" Bugliosi's speech is among the most eloquent in the collection, which is why it is so stunning when one of the defendants provokes him so much that he loses his cool and calls her a name that rhymes with rich.

Although the title promises the "greatest closing arguments in modern law," some of the speeches seem to have been chosen because they were connected to important cases rather than because of their own rhetorical merits. However, the cases themselves are interesting, and these transcripts bring them to life better than any summary would. This collection should be of interest to anyone in the legal profession. --Jill Marquis

From Publishers Weekly

In a country where celebrity lawyers are worshipped like divas, it's surprising that until now no one has collected their most glorious arias?the closing arguments of front-page cases. Here Lief (a deputy DA in Ventura, Calif.), Caldwell (a professor of law at Pepperdine University) and Bycel (dean of UWLA School of Law) have assembled the "ten greatest arguments" delivered by American advocates in civil and criminal trials in the last century. Included are some obvious choices: Clarence Darrow's impassioned plea to spare Leopold and Loeb from the gallows; Robert Jackson's magisterial condemnation of Hitler's henchmen at Nuremberg; Gerry Spence's folksy attack on the Kerr-McGee nuclear power plant on behalf of Karen Silkwood; Vincent Bugliosi's methodical devastation of the Manson family. Readers will enjoy second-guessing the editors: Is Donald Re's close in the DeLorean trial "greater" in advocating on behalf of a notorious client than Johnnie Cochran's (overlooked here, as is Daniel Petrocelli)? Is William Kunstler's argument in the Chicago 7 trial "great" or is it merely a famous lawyer's last word in a famous case? Does the snippet of Clara Shortridge Foltz's argument presented here, in which she wittily exposes the opposing counsel's sexism, outrank the close of, say, Thurgood Marshall in Brown v. Board of Education? Unfortunately, the editors' brief commentaries shed little light on why these particular arguments make their top-10 list. They virtually ignore opposing counsel's arguments, except in the case of My Lai Lieut. William Calley Jr. Repeatedly, they praise the top-10 closures for focusing the evidence and talking "horizontally" to the jury, but surely there's magic unaccounted for.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (June 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684836610
• ISBN-13: 978-0684836614
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,234,392 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Law > Procedures & Litigation > Jury

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spellbinding, December 29, 2000

By 

Eiman Abrishami (Los Angeles, Ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ladies And Gentlemen Of The Jury: Greatest Closing Arguments In Modern Law (Paperback)

Ladies and Gentlemen... kills two birds with one stone by providing an eduactional and intruiging experience. You will hit your curiousity spot by learning what the landmark trials of the United States were all about, and you will also get locked into some of the most persuasive literature I have ever seen.

While those who are interested in the legal field are virtually guaranteed to be interested in reading Ladies and Gentlemen..., you don't need to be anything close to a lawyer to appreciate this. This anthology of closing arguments teaches the reader how to connect/communicate with others. After reading a series of closing arguments, I learned different strategies to use to relate to a group of people to get my point across (in this case, a jury). This book is great to any businessman, negotiator, or even those who want to improve their basic social, everyday, oral skills.

I just bought this book for ten of my friends for the past holiday season, and I got star reports from all of them. I recommend this innovative book to all types of readers.

--Emanuel Abrishami

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for anyone who is or wants to be a litigator!, February 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury: Greatest Closing Arguments in Modern Law (Hardcover)

The authors have done a fantastic job of resurrecting some of the finest closing arguments of all time. From Gerry Spence's closing in Silkwood (perhaps the greatest closing argument ever) to the flair and panache of William Kuntsler, this book provides excitement and intrigue at the turn of every page. Completely engrossing. . . . I recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in trial practice, or plain old human drama.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If your idealism is waning, this book will help you find it!, February 15, 2005

By 

Woody White "woody white" (Wilmington, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ladies And Gentlemen Of The Jury: Greatest Closing Arguments In Modern Law (Paperback)

After years of arguing caseslaw, motions, picking juries, interviewing witnesses, going through all the day to day protocol that trial work demands, one may forget at times how important is the job of a lawyer. But this book reminds the practioner that he/she is a part of a wonderful system of justice. Not many cases will go down as "The Greatest" but to your clients, it is often the defining moment of their lives. And this book helps you reconnect to the reasons why you sought a lifetime devoted to the noblest of professions.
Reading about the great lawyers of in our history is humbling and worthwhile. Reflection is helpful as you try to regain a little lost idealism. And if you are a new lawyer and have all of you ideals from law school still in tact, reading this book will help you realize how important it is to never lose them. Great book for lawyers and non-lawyers alike.