Until now, only the twelve jurors who sat in judgment were able to appreciate these virtuoso performances, where weeks of testimony were boiled down and presented with flair, wit, and high drama. For five years the authors researched every archive from those of the "L.A. Times" to the dusty stacks of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and readers can now lose themselves in the summations of America's finest litigators.

Clarence Darrow saves Leopold and Loeb from the gallows in the Roaring Twenties. Gerry Spence takes on the nuclear power industry for the death of Karen Silkwood in a modern-day David and Goliath struggle. Vincent Bugliosi squares off against the madness of Charles Manson and his murderous "family" in the aftermath of their bloody spree. Clara Foltz, the first woman to practice law in California, argues passionately to an all-male jury, defending her place in the courtroom. Bobby DeLaughter brings the killer of civil-rights leader Medgar Evers to justice after thirty years and two mistrials. Aubrey Daniel brings Lt. William Calley, Jr., to justice for the My Lai massacre. William Kunstler challenges the establishment after the '68 Chicago riots in his defense of yippie leaders known as the Chicago Seven.

Each closing argument is put into context by the authors, who provide historical background, a brief biography of each attorney, and commentary, pointing out the trial tactics used to great effect by the lawyers, all in language that is jargon-free for the benefit of the lay reader.

Criminal Pretrial Advocacy serves as a resource for educators, students, and beginning trial attorneys by focusing on what criminal lawyers primarily do-prepare cases and settle them. In order to assist preparation, the text emphasizes strategy and ethics. For educators, this text would be ideal for pretrial advocacy courses. For students, it can serve as an introduction and careful description of the process of trial preparation and settlement. Unlike casebooks, this text offers a clear and practical description of the logistics of trial preparation and tips for case settlement. For practitioners, it provides a foundation, or a basic guide, for introducing new attorneys to the pre-trial procedures they might otherwise be unfamiliar with. By reading and studying Criminal Pretrial Advocacy, advocates will be better prepared for trial and in a better position to prevail. Throughout, we relate the foundations of criminal pretrial advocacy; we discuss filing charges, developing a persuasive case theory, and bail review strategies. You will learn how successful attorneys interview their clients and witnesses. We explain proper discovery procedure and draw on our courtroom experience to identify the methods needed to effectively litigate preliminary and grand jury hearings. A significant portion of the text is devoted to the mechanics of preparing and presenting motions. Criminal Pretrial Advocacy will also provide strategies for arriving at successful case settlements. When you are finished, you will possess the tools to prepare confidently and successfully for criminal trials. Criminal Pretrial Advocacy will be most effective when used in conjunction with our mock trial companion book, Criminal Mock Trials. The companion book presents a comprehensive set of interesting case files with a variety of pretrial and trial issues for students to explore. Together the companion book and this text present a series of criminal practice cases, hypothetical cases, checklists, and notes on ethical considerations. Both texts present stimulating pretrial advocacy and ethical issues to facilitate provocative discourse. Because an advocate's success in criminal law stems from the meticulous planning that takes place during the pretrial stages, attorneys must prepare thoroughly. Criminal Pretrial Advocacy and Criminal Mock Trials will provide you with the tools needed to achieve this goal.

This book contains eight realistic mock criminal case files for use in pretrial advocacy, trial advocacy, and mock trial courses. This book is recommended for use in conjunction with the course book, Criminal Pretrial Advocacy, but may also be used as a stand-alone resource for practicing trial advocacy. The case files herein provide witness statements, photographs of physical evidence, police reports, charts and other demonstrative evidence, jury instructions, and additional materials that criminal prosecutors and defense attorneys would rely on to prepare a case for trial. These case files can be used for a variety of criminal pretrial litigation exercises, including: developing case theories; drafting and arguing motions; conducting pretrial and preliminary hearings; preparing witnesses for trial; and negotiating case settlements. The case files include a myriad of pretrial motion issues, such as search and seizure issues and suppressing defendants' statements. This book of mock trials can effectively be used to conduct complete trials, from motions in limine to closing arguments. The case files are an appropriate length for use in weekly or biweekly assignments. Each case file presents a set of facts that allows an able prosecutor to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, or an effective defense attorney to raise a reasonable doubt. This book is intended for use in college and law school trial advocacy courses. About the authors: Terry Adamson has taught trial advocacy and pretrial advocacy classes at Pepperdine University School of Law for eighteen years and is one of the trial team coaches for Pepperdine's nationally acclaimed trial advocacy program. She is also a former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, and has prosecuted a wide range of cases. She was the co-prosecutor for the high-profile, thirteen month long jury trial known as the "Chinatown" case, in which one of the multiple murder victims was a police officer. Professor Adamson was a Malibu Superior Court Commissioner for eighteen years, presiding over every aspect of felony and misdemeanor cases. She is currently the Distinguished Jurist in Residence at Pepperdine University School of Law. Professor Adamson is a recipient of the David McKibbin Outstanding Teaching Award. H. Mitchell Caldwell teaches Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure as well as trial advocacy courses and serves as advisor of the law school's highly successful interschool trial teams. Before joining the Pepperdine faculty, he was a trial prosecutor in Santa Barbara and Riverside Counties. Professor Caldwell routinely represents condemned prisoners in the appeals of their death sentences before both the California Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has written extensively in the area of criminal procedure, trial advocacy, and the death penalty and is the co-author of Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury (1998), And the Walls Came Tumbling Down (2004) and The Devil's Advocates (Fall 2006). This popular series of books celebrates significant jury trials and the lawyers who tried the cases. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury was selected by the Los Angeles Times as a best non-fiction selection. Caldwell also co-authored The Art and Science of Trial Advocacy for use at the law school level. Professor Caldwell has received several teaching awards including the Luckman Distinguished Teaching Award and was the recipient of the Richard Jacobson Award as the nation's premier trial advocacy teacher in 2000.

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.

The second volume in a must-have trilogy of the best closing arguments in American legal history

Every day, Americans enjoy the freedom to decide what we do with our property, our bodies, our speech, and our votes. However, the rights to these freedoms have not always been guaranteed. Our civil rights have been assured by cases that have produced monumental shifts in America's cultural, political, and legal landscapes.

"And the Walls Came Tumbling Down" showcases eight of the most exciting closing arguments in civil law -- from the Amistad case, in which John Quincy Adams brought the injustice of slavery to the center stage of American politics, to the Susan B. Anthony decision, which paved the way to success for women's suffrage, to the Larry Flynt trial, in which the porn king became an unlikely champion for freedom of speech. By providing historical and biographical details, as well as the closing arguments themselves, Lief and Caldwell give readers the background necessary to fully understand these important cases, bringing them vividly to life.