Presents to the reader a selection of the finest closing arguments in American history. Softcover. DLC: Summation (Law)--U.S.
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
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
An Insightful Book This book, the first in a series of three by the authors, looks at significant trials in American history. What I found interesting as a teacher of trial advocacy is the ability to read closing arguments from a wide variety of lawyers that took place in the context of interesting trials. Is the collection of closing arguments the greatest in history? Who is to say unless you were in the courtroom. But that does not take away from the fact that the book provides a unique glimpse for lawyers to see how other... more info
Fairly accurate choices Of course this book is going to be subjective simply because there is no way to determine (via a point system or rating scale) which cases have the best closing arguments. With that being said, in response to Jerry Saperstein's review of the book, I have to say that it only takes a 2nd year law student to identify the genius involved with Vincent Bugliosi's closing arguments - in ANY of his cases. The only reason why his closing argument in the Manson case isn't considered one of his greatest is because for... more info
Learn from the masters This book is a compendium of great trial arguments from notable lawyers. I think it is a must read for trial lawyers.
Celebrity cases, mostly of the left - certainly not the "greatest." The authors claim that these "greatest closing arguments in modern law" were chosen for the "quality of [their] summation, as well as for [their] historical significance." The immediate question is who is judging the quality of the summation and, more importantly, their historical significance? The view here is obviously that left-wing causes have the most historical significance, though some cases, such as Nuremburg, are politically neutral. Clarence Darrow's summation in behalf of two young men who... more info
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