Trials Without Truth: Why Our System of Criminal Trials Has Become an Expensive Failure and What We Need to Do to Rebuild It [Hardcover]

William Pizzi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1998

Reginald Denny. O. J. Simpson. Colin Ferguson. Louise Woodward: all names that have cast a spotlight on the deficiencies of the American system of criminal justice. Yet, in the wake of each trial that exposes shocking behavior by trial participants or results in counterintuitive rulings--often with perverse results--the American public is reassured by the trial bar that the case is not "typical" and that our trial system remains the best in the world.

William T. Pizzi here argues that what the public perceives is in fact exactly what the United States has: a trial system that places far too much emphasis on winning and not nearly enough on truth, one in which the abilities of a lawyer or the composition of a jury may be far more important to the outcome of a case than any evidence.

How has a system on which Americans have lavished enormous amounts of energy, time, and money been allowed to degenerate into one so profoundly flawed?

Acting as an informal tour guide, and bringing to bear his experiences as both insider and outsider, prosecutor and academic, Pizzi here exposes the structural faultlines of our trial system and its paralyzing obsession with procedure, specifically the ways in which lawyers are permitted to dominate trials, the system's preference for weak judges, and the absurdities of plea bargaining. By comparing and contrasting the U.S. system with that of a host of other countries, Trials Without Truth provides a clear-headed, wide-ranging critique of what ails the criminal justice system--and a prescription for how it can be fixed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pizzi believes that the American system of criminal trials is badly in need of repair. The main problem, in his eyes, is that the system is too preoccupied with judicial procedure and too little concerned with the truth. In a cogent, direct argument, Pizzi inveighs against the triumph of the law of unintended consequences over the law of practicality. He carefully articulates the sad state of the criminal trial system, laying blame primarily on Supreme Court decisions relating to criminal procedure. Pizzi argues persuasively that a criminal trial system in which defendants avoid trials at all costs is inherently flawed. Comparing the American system to those of other countries, he shows how our preoccupation with formal rights and procedural regularity blinds us to glaring substantive failures, such as defendants' lack of access to adequate representation and the fact that there is a strong institutional preference for guilty pleas even in cases in which defendants are innocent. He suggests that fact-finders be appointed to determine a defendant's guilt. In this sense, Pizzi echoes his University of Colorado colleague Paul Campos (Jurismania). Pizzi's background as a former federal prosecutor may lead him to downplay the severity of police abuses in this country, yet his argument's ultimate grounding in perspectives gleaned from his research in comparative criminal law makes his book an important work.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This critique of the American criminal justice system is both timely and typical in light of recent high-profile trials--O. J. Simpson and the Menendez brothers--and growing political sentiment. The book is reflective of the conservative sentiment that assumes that the rights of the accused have been emphasized at the expense of those of the victim. Pizzi, a law professor, uses comparative law (four European legal systems) to reflect on the weakness of our system and the potential for reform. His sports analogy, comparing American football with the European legal systems, makes this a useful read for those who are not legal scholars. The American legal system and American football are driven, if not obsessed, by procedure. The European systems have procedural guidelines but are much less obsessed about procedure. Pizzi notes that current application of American law puts exclusionary and other rules at center stage. He asserts that the truth should be center stage, with procedure reformed to support this objective--a well reasoned proposition. Vernon Ford

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 257 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814766498
• ISBN-13: 978-0814766491
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,495,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pizzi shows the problems in the system, January 9, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Trials Without Truth: Why Our System of Criminal Trials Has Become an Expensive Failure and What We Need to Do to Rebuild It (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book by a scholar interested in "thinking outside the box." Pizzi looks at the problems with the American criminal justice system's excessive preoccupation with procedural issues at the expense of substantive justice. The book is an excellent read for anyone who thinks that there has to be a better way to structure our criminal justice system.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth at Last, but is Anyone Listening, April 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Trials Without Truth: Why Our System of Criminal Trials Has Become an Expensive Failure and What We Need to Do to Rebuild It (Paperback)

Having served as a judge in a large city for the last seven years, I can tell you that this book is exactly on point. Sadly, though, few are willing to engage in the public policy debate Professor Pizzi's book ought to trigger. Pizzi exposes the failures of our criminal justice system with a clean straight-forward style that makes this book enjoyable to lawyers and frustrated citizens alike. By comparing our system to those of other Western democracies, Pizzi not only broadens our perspective; but exposes as nonsense our arrogant and baseless belief that our system is not only best, but really the only way to do things. Even after twenty-seven years as a lawyer and judge, I discover, once again, how much I had to learn. Probably, Pizzi's most important insight is his analysis of the link between our imbalanced system and the rampant dishonesty it has bred among lawyers, judges and police. He describes how the well- meaning effort to produce an honest result in the face of unrealistic court imposed rules, formulated without the benefit of an open public policy debate, has discredited our system. I can only hope that during my lifetime we can begin an honest look at our system and begin to rid it of the cynicism and disrespect which now characterize it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, September 24, 2003

By 

Brett T Sullivan (Evergreen, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trials Without Truth: Why Our System of Criminal Trials Has Become an Expensive Failure and What We Need to Do to Rebuild It (Hardcover)

Amazing book and so true. What in the world happend to our trial system? Excellent excellent reading of how and why our trial system has turned into nonsense.