This is the first biography of Stanley Mosk (1912-2001), iconic protector of civil rights and civil liberties during his 37 years as a justice of the Supreme Court of California (1964 to 2001). It recounts Mosk's previously unexplored pre-Court years where he quickly rose as a leader among Los Angeles reformers, becoming the executive secretary of California governor Culbert Olson and then gaining wide popularity during his 16 years as a superior court judge. Mosk's unprecedented 1958 election and service as state attorney general soon won national attention and the promise of likely election in 1964 to the U.S. Senate, but an unexpected aborted campaign augured a new course in American history. The whole book frames Mosk's Supreme Court years and the landmark cases where his opinions or biting dissents continue to resonate. It is a singular and timely portrait of the dynamic interplay of law, politics, and justice in America.

Excerpts from Actual Cases
Illustrations by Lee Lorenz

"Splendid. . . . Pokes irreverent fun at everyone in the court system. . . . Lee Lorenz' fine illustrative cartoons add laughs to this madness." — Chicago Tribune

This assortment of unintentionally amusing courtroom exchanges ranges from the testimony of expert witnesses to jury selection to cross examination to creative defense, closing argument, and sentencing — a rollicking guide to America's legal system.

Lawyers and non-lawyers alike fell delightedly on the authors previous collection of ridiculous excerpts from actual court cases. Now Rodney R. Jones and Gerald F. Uelmen return with an all-new assortment of unintentionally amusing incidents from legal cases of all kinds, including folly in the Supreme Court itself."