A collection of essays about the O.J. Simpson trial drawn from magazines such as Newsweek, The New Republic, and Congressional Quarterly, includes articles on the different reactions between African-Americans and white Americans and the effects of pretrial publicity on jurors.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Abramson (We the Jury) collects 25 brief, thought-provoking commentaries on the O.J. Simpson case, several of which are reprinted from publications like Newsweek and the New Republic. Michael Eric Dyson wisely advises that the "goal should not be to transcend race, but to transcend the biased meanings associated with race." Elizabeth Schneider and Deborah Rohde pointedly remind readers how domestic violence was trivialized in this case. While Lorraine Adams and Serge F. Kovaleski lay out how Simpson's "Dream Team" of defense attorneys used its vast resources to shape a winning strategy (especially through use of a jury consultant), Rohde observes that many poor black defendants face unjust convictions. Some contributors suggest reform of the jury system; others say it should be scrapped. Joseph McNamara warns against the Los Angeles "military model" of policing, while ex-prosecutor Scott Turow takes prosecutors to task for regularly putting dishonest cops on the stand. As for the final analysis: Harvey Cox sees the case as evidence of American balkanization, while Stanley Crouch finds seeds of national maturity in racial matters. This is, as the subtitle suggests, a collection that addresses the meta-issues of the case: there is no exhaustive analysis of the prosecution's failures or of the recent spate of books by the trial's participants.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The continuing cornucopia of commentary on the "Trial of the Century" has produced two more books, each shedding illuminating rays of insight onto the Simpson case, albeit from different perspectives. Abramson is a professor of political science and former prosecutor who brings together a collection of essays written by a wide spectrum of contributors, including law professors, prosecutors, historians, political scientists, philosophers, journalists, a former police chief, and a theologian. The essays address the broad social significance of the trial and together form a testimonial to the state of justice and democracy at the national level and their interrelationship in a city struggling to overcome racial division. Perceived shortcomings in the criminal justice system are discussed, as are proposals for reform. The editor fairly presents both sides of controversial issues, such as the role of race, the possibility of jury nullification, the influence of domestic violence, the need for jury reform, and the significance of legal strategies and ethics. Uelmen, on the other hand, speaks with a slant?though not surprisingly since he was a member of Simpson's defense team. In this context, his book is similar to Robert Shapiro's Search for Justice (Warner, 1996), except that Uelmen, a law professor, is able to tap his academic background to provide a more scholarly discussion of the activities of both the defense attorneys and the prosecutors, why they did what they did, and how they perhaps could have done better. Uelmen draws examples from the annals of legal history that a practicing attorney, such as Shapiro, might overlook. Both books are well written, but Abramson gives a more balanced view of events.?Philip Y. Blue, State Supreme Court Criminal Branch Law Lib., New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet.
|
|||
|
Video reviews
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
