The Devil's Advocates

In The Devil's Advocateswe turn our attention to the types of crimes and trials that have so captivated the public, cases that have also helped to illuminate underlying principals of the American criminal justice system. From a Tennessee sheriff turning a blind eye to a mob hell-bent on lynching a prisoner; to a single mother protesting a warrantless police search of her home, the cases in this book illustrate the drama behind the legal decisions that control our criminal justice system. Future President John Adams illustrates the principle that even the most despised and vilified criminal is entitled to a legal defense, in the argument he delivers on behalf of the British soldiers who shot and killed five Americans during the Boston Massacre. The always-controversial temporary insanity defense makes its debut within sight of the White House, when a prominent congressman guns down the district attorney over an extra-marital affair, in front of horrified onlookers. Clarence Darrow is represented with a ringing defense of a black family charged with using deadly force to defend themselves from a violent mob, an argument that refines the concept of self-defense - and its applicability to all races. The treason trial of Aaron Burr (who also killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel) for plotting to "steal" the western territories of the United States and form a new country with himself as its head, offers a fascinating glimpse into a rare type of prosecution, as well as a look at perhaps the most interesting traitor in the nation's history. And perhaps the most famous and significant of precedent-setting cases, that of Ernesto Miranda, an accused rapist who confessed to the crime without having been notified of his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself (and his right to counsel) is analyzed in detail. These arguments - and the cases motivating them - provide the reader with a ringside seat to gripping drama, as well as to the shaping of the legal system we thrill to and curse at today.