Trial of Miles, Miles of Trials
587567
You think you are a runner?  Well, if you are you'll love this book. Go out and buy it.
120041
Environmental Crime Trails: The Road to Reasonable Doubt by Mr. Steven Drielak offers a well written approach to the preparation for
trial needed for a successful outcome regarding an environmental crimes case.
As a consultant and Investigator involved in environmental cases, I appreciate Mr. Drielak's through and balanced detail regarding
this subject

K Kinnings
President
California Hazardous Materials Investigators Association
2654022
RIVETING FIRST-HAND JUROR EXPERIENCE
I'm glad to see readers getting another shot at Hazel Thornton's book on the Menendez Brothers, especially with new material included. I became interested in books about juror experiences during the highly televised O. J. Simpson and Menendez Brothers cases, and was surprised that there didn't seem to be much readily available. All I could manage to find was a plethora of courtroom fiction, along with the occasional autobiographical volume by legal professionals using far more technical jargon than I could handle. But what I really wanted, was something that dealt with the day to day struggles of someone who'd actually served as a juror.

Finding Hazel's book was a revelation. What fascinated me most was that it was compiled from actual notes taken throughout her jury experience. Her book records the journey of an eyewitness who attempted to process emotionally difficult, confusing, and often conflicting testimony, on a day to day basis. Hazels book gave me deeply personal insight into her experience as a juror; this was exactly what I'd been looking for, and I found it nearly impossible to put down.

My interest in juror autobiographies waned shortly afterward. Many years later, I discovered that a new friend (whom I knew as a professional organizer in Albuquerque, NM) was the author of the book that had satisfied my curiosity. I hope that many new readers will discover my friend Hazel Thorntons book.
3024428
The supposed hook of this book, a sensational trial in 1800 with Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton as co defense counsel, is really not as interesting as the tour of New York City in 1800 that this book provides--having lived in New York descriptions of daily life and geography 200 years ago is truly fascinating.  Collins writes in an easy going style that , as they say, makes history fun.
4107749
Reading THE TRIAL is an exercise in pure frustration - which is probably what author Franz Kafka (1883-1924) intended.  We meet Joseph K, an average citizen who is informed that he has been charged with a crime.  Joseph K retains a lawyer and reports to the court as ordered. Despite his compliance, he cannot find what crime he is charged with, and the noose around him seems to tighten with every passing day.  Kafka wrote this book in 1914, a few years before a fellow Austrian began leading the Nazi Party in Germany.  It was as if Kafka was predicting the future.  THE TRIAL has a powerful message, but it can leave the reader annoyed.
821823
I guess lawyers might like it. It appears to be -like the title says - a critisism of the Trial itself. There are better books on the trial available.
2216226
Interesting?  Never read it before until now regarding which trials.  Can use it to relate to how people feel about different conflicts over different time periods as well.
37030
Miles Vorkosigan is enjoying his honeymoon...right up to the point that he is diverted to Graf Station in Quaddiespace to sort out a diplomatic mess involving Barrayaran warships, Komarran transports and some missing personnel. What initially appears to be a straightforward mission rapidly escalates into a major incident that threatens to break out into full-scale war.

After several novels in a row concerned primarily with Miles Vorkosigan's character development, Diplomatic Immunity sees Lois McMaster Bujold returning to something of a more "normal" approach for the series. She sets up a series of interconnecting mysteries built around some interesting SF ideas and then sets Miles loose to investigate and resolve the situation with a (relative) minimum of fuss. This time around Miles is accompanied by his wife, Ekaterin, and reunited with one of his old Dendarii compatriots, but for the most part it's Miles doing what Miles does best: fast-talking, quick-thinking and having a lot of fun in the process.

The novel is also a bit of a sequel to one of Bujold's earlier novels, Falling Free, which is set in the Vorkosigan universe but is not part of the core series. That book explored the development of the quaddies, humans genetically engineered to best exploit freefall by being given an extra pair of arms and hands instead of legs. Diplomatic Immunity also catches up with the quaddies and reveals what has become of their society in the  intervening two centuries (Falling Free accompanies Diplomatic Immunity in the omnibus edition).

The book is standard fare for Bujold and Miles: well-written, with some clever ideas, some unexpected twists (the escalation of the situation from a minor drama to a massive diplomatic incident is sudden but convincing) and some nice work in terms of both characterisation and plot. It's a smart novel, although it is a little too reliant on coincidences. We are told repeatedly how obscure, bizarre and off the beaten track Graf Station is, so Miles running into two people he's met in previous adventures purely by chance is a little hard to swallow. Once you move past that, it becomes a more interesting story combining mystery, action and politics.

If Diplomatic Immunity does have a major flaw, it's that it feels a little slight in terms of Miles's own character development in the wake of Mirror Dance, Memory, Komarr and A Civil Campaign. But after a whole series of traumas, it is also kind of fun to see Miels not being put through the emotional or physical wringer so much and just getting on with his job.

Diplomatic Immunity (****) is a fun, enjoyable addition to The Vorkosigan Saga. It is available now as part of the Miles, Mutants and Microbes omnibus.
942944
I watched this trial from beginning to end on HLN.  Of course you don't always know everything that goes on but this book pretty much describes the trial I watched.  I really enjoyed watching Juan Martinez in action.  I don't know why anyone would think he was too hard on the people that examined during the trial. That is his job and after all, he was trying to make sure that a murder was not turned loose and able to kill, mutilate another person.  I am glad he decided to write this book.  I've read many on this trial and this was pretty much play by play of what I saw.
4342798
American lawyer Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) is often remembered only as the "infidel" lawyer opposing William Jennings Bryan at the so-called "Monkey Trial" of John Thomas Scopes. But he had a very important and influential career both before and after this famous trial, as a famous labor lawyer, and later criminal lawyer---including of the infamous "thrill killers" Leopold and Loeb.  (Of fifty criminal trials with the death penalty at stake, only one person defended by Darrow---his first---ever received the death penalty.)  He also defended the African-American family of Dr. Ossian Sweet, whose home was attacked by a white mob.

Darrow began as a corporate lawyer, working for a railway company, but eventually, "To him there was a stark contradiction in being a railroad lawyer by day and a radical by night; the more radical causes he adopted, the more intolerable his position seemed."  However, "In spite of his fierce desire for truth, his avid reading, and his consistent pursuit of the pleasures of the mind, he was no scholar."

Tierney offers many insights about Darrow and his manner of working: e.g., "He performed best in a thoroughgoing confrontation, when reconciliation was neither desired nor practicable."; "Darrow always had a tendency to say things more for their effect than because they were true."  Tierney also observes that "Acting on behalf of clients with whom he sympathized politically, and whose cause he believed in, he had lost the professional quality of objectivity.  In his ardent desire that a political persuasion should be vindicated, he had all too often ignored or suppressed the unpleasant particulars of a case in favor of bringing out its supposed political implications."

Espousing many controversial views (such as his outspoken agnosticism), and often attacked as an advocate of "free love" as well as Socialism, Tierney says that "Darrow was about as much a free lover as a socialist---which is to say not much at all."

In his willingness to talk with and assist young lawyers, "Darrow never forgot that he got his first chance because of the kindness of men who were already established, and even at the pinnacle of his fame he would put work aside to help a young unknown."

This is an excellent biography for anyone interested in Darrow.
4931394
I like the case examples. I thought this would be another dry law book, but the examples given were interesting and off the beaten path.  Reading this book was like watching a marathon of Judge Judy - I never knew what the judge would have ruled.  Very interesting!
4970005
This book, as the title tells you, is about trials for piracy.  It contains extracts of a few trials which, if you're interested in the court systems of 200 years ago, may be interesting.  It would be more so if the author had inserted a precis explaining who did what to whom at the start of each trial.

If you've ever been on jury duty you know that trials can be boring, slow, tortuous affairs (unlike the ones on TV that are intended for entertainment).  This book shows that trials in the 19th century were just as dull as today's.  If you're not interested in the legal system's history I'd suggest giving it a miss.
4443080
Endurance is the descriptive word.  The Author tried several times in 4 - 5 years to complete this race and was unsuccessful.  He tells of the trials encountered on the trails, and the thrill of actually completing the run in the alloted time.
1730604
I followed the trial since the beginning & I loved being able to feel like I was there in the court room.
Paul Sanders should write a book on the 1st part of the trial.
617614
Steven Lubet's masterful work deserves all of the encomiums it has already received from legal scholars and historians. Allow this layperson to add his own.  Professor Lubet has accomplished several tasks.  The first is to give the history of the Fugitive Slave Act and how it pitted North against South, leading inexorably to the dissolution of the Union and the Civil War. This he does in just enough detail to inform but not overwhelm the reader.

The second is to describe the ins and outs of the trials, the maneuverings of prosecution and defense lawyers, their mistakes and their triumphs. His formidable legal knowledge is complemented by his writing talent. These sections had me on the edge of my seat, although the trial outcomes are of course known.

Lubet traces the evolution of the defense arguments against the slaveholders and their hirelings. In the early 1850's the tactic was not to attack the constitutionality of the Act, but to attempt to show that it did not apply to the defendants: they were misidentified, they were free men randomly kidnapped by the slave catchers, and other arguments, some clearly ruses. By the end of the decade the outrage of the North allowed the tactics to change to the invocation of "higher law": moral and religious arguments to trump the Act itself. (One can not help but see the analogy with the modern civil rights movement.)  Along the way, we meet some heroic defenders of runaway slaves, among them attorney Richard Henry Dana, generally known for his book, "Two Years Before the Mast" and rescuer Charles Langston, son of a veteran of the American Revolution and his former slave, who were, by mutual consent and affection, common law man and wife.

Lubet avoids polemics.  He describes with objectivity the legal justifications employed by slave holders and their supporters (including three presidents: Fillmore, Pierce and Buchanan), as well as the fierce opposition of free states to the Act's requirement that they acquiesce in, and in fact aid in the kidnapping of runaway slaves on their own territory.

"Fugitive Justice" is rich with rewards both for its scholarly analysis of the Act and for its expository style, which renders complex issues clear to the lay reader. I look forward to Professor Lubet's next book, on whatever subject he chooses.
1056597
In 1806, two men were tried and sentenced to death in Northampton. Mass. for murder but were later pardoned due to prejudice influencing their trial (a real case).  In "The Hanging Judge," a drive-by shooting in the Holyoke area during the present day kills a drug dealer named Edgar "Peach" Delgado and a nurse who is distantly related to one of the guilty men in the earlier trial.  This suspect is Moon Hudson, an African American father and husband, a small time drug dealer who may be associated with the local gangs.  Though this takes place in Massachusetts, the case becomes a capital trial, and besides turning into a public relations nightmare, the death penalty is a possibility.  The (fictional) case will be presided over by Judge David Norcross, a man with principles but relatively little experience in these matters.  Other key players in the novel include Claire, David's love interest and a professor of medieval literature; Sandra Hudson, Moon's faithful and increasingly concerned wife; Alex Torricelli, a cop who is injured in the line of duty and may gain something valuable by giving the "right" testimony; Bill Redpath, a crusty defense lawyer with a nicotine habit; Lydia Gomez-Larsen, the case prosecutor; and Frank and Eva, who deal with the paperwork of the case.  The book focuses mostly on the present day trial, giving a lengthy play-by-play of each character's role in the trial, and their love/marital troubles as well.

As Tracy Kidder notes in his review, included in the front, the book's strength is that it is authentic (the author is also a federal judge).  The setting and inhabitants of the area, both the liberal academic types and those who are involved in dealings on the less respectable side of the law, are well-drawn.  However, there is so much detail of the courtroom and the mechanics of the trial that the pace tends to drag, and there is some unnecessary juvenile humor, as well (someone breaks wind during the trial, for example).  Still, if you're familiar with the setting and enjoy these types of mysteries, it may be worth a read.
569172
SUCH a good book. I'm slowly working on reading it, little by little, and every page is full of interesting information, tidbits and stories about the Trials.