Review
From the Inside Flap
Everyone had seen the "evidence" with their own eyes. After all, the beating had been captured on videotape and shown thousands of times on television.
There was an overwhelming reaction against the verdicts from the L.A. riots, to disillusionment expressed by the President, criticisms in the media, and from ordinary people in all walks of life. Clearly, something was radically wrong with our system of justice or our perception of it.
The first Rodney King beating trial evoked feelings of outrage in Administrative Law Judges Laurence H. Geller and Peter Hemenway, as well as profound disappointment and utter frustration with our jury system.
Then came the reverberations from the O.J. Simpson criminal and civil trials with their racial overtones. Once again, America's jury system was on trial.
The authors decided to put the notion of out-of-control juries to the test. They put their preconceived feelings on hold, and reviewed the evidence presented to the jurors in the actual King beating trial. Geller and Hemenway sought answers to the following questions:
(1) What role did pretrial publicity play in the Rodney King beating trial and in the O.J. Simpson case?
(2) Were the King beating trial verdicts symptomatic of a breakdown in a good system, or did they show the bankruptcy of a bad system that provided unequal justice for people of color?
(3) Could the verdicts in the King beating trial be correct given the evidence presented?
(4) Could jurors do their job, or were criminal trials so hopelessly complicated that verdicts would always be bizarre and irrational?
(5) How could jury trials be improved?
Their search resulted in a hard-hitting and innovative exploration of the American jury system.
"Last Chance for Justice" demystifies jury service, enabling ordinary citizens to cut through legalese, understand the process and how they can contribute to improving it. The book asks all of us to examine our biases to see whether we can be impartial jurors.
"Last Chance" demonstrates how changes in the jury system can empower jurors and result in greater justice for defendants, victims and for the community.
