America on Trial: Inside the Legal Battles That Transformed Our Nation by Alan M. Dershowitz (PDF)

Description

The renowned attorney and bestselling author reveals how notable trials throughout our history have helped to shape our nation. Offering insights into the human condition, these trials serve as a historical document, chronicling the struggles and passions of their time.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Interesting and historical legal reading. Once I got to the more recent trials I admit I lost some interest.

⭐America on Trial, by Alan Dershowitz, is an interesting book. I don’t always agree with the book, but I do recommend this book.

⭐I will never get tired of reading Professor Dershowitz’s books. His writing is clear and engaging, and his topics are fascinating. Anyone with and interest in legal history would enjoy this book. In fact, even people who have never had an interest in it would likely enjoy it.

⭐Great book by a respected man.

⭐I don’t know why he wrote this book. It’s vague, stiff, boring, and uses cases that are not relevant.

⭐concise interesting account of many important trials

⭐When I first saw this book, based on the title I dismissed it as an anti-government screed. Fortunately, I picked it up and looked at it more closely. I concluded that the title was misleading, probably chosen by the publisher to enhance sales. In this regard, it failed with me as I bought it in spite of the title not because of it. A much better, more descriptive, title would have been Great Trials of America. While not an anti-government screed, Professor Dershowitz comes down hard on the more conservative members of the current (as of 2004) Supreme Court. As such, the book may not appeal to those who support the conservative view of how to interpret the constitution. Professor Dershowitz also focuses on prosecutorial, defense counsel and judicial misconduct. Some may support this misconduct as an attempt to bring about the desired outcome (the readers desired outcome), even at the expense of staying within the rules of the court and in some cases the rule of law. While coming down most often against the conservatives who twist (or even break) the law, he does not spare those on the left who did the same thing (particularly Clarence Darrow). I found the discussion of the Scopes trial to be most interesting. Professor Dershowitz points out that much of our view of the trial is based on the play (and later the movie) Inherit the Wind, in which the Bryant character is made out to be somewhat of a fool. In reality, Professor Dershowitz points out that Bryant actually won the case and was not the narrow minded religious conservative depicted in the play and movie. He points out that the book that Bryant was trying to ban (successfully) was a eugenics text, more suited to Nazi Germany than the US.The book covers important trials starting with the Salem Witch trials and that of Peter Zenger, and ends with the detainees at Guantanamo bay (although as of 2004 when the book was written there has yet to be a trial). This is done by dividing the book into sections, each covering a period of American history (Colonial America, Early History, Civil War, Early Twentieth Century, etc.), with a brief discussion of the trials of that period at the beginning of each section. There are common threads, such as the question of Supreme Court decisions based on a strict interpretation of the constitution versus a looser one allowing for change with the times. The question of freedom of speech is another thread that runs through the book.I liked the early sections much better than those that dealt with cases that Professor Dershowitz was personally involved. Perhaps this was due to the fact that I was somewhat acquainted with these trials, so I learned less than I did from the early trials with which I had much less knowledge. My chief criticism is that the aim was to cover as many trials as possible (I counted 63), so no trail was covered in very much detail. Rather, the focus was on what the trial tells us about the American judicial system and its legacy. I would have liked to see more about each trail, even if fewer trails were covered.

⭐As a trial attorney, one of my guilty pleasures is to periodically pick up the works of other trial attorneys to learn what cases in their opinion define American justice.In this regard, I must candidly admit that I have so far failed to find a good book on this topic.However, even if I were to imagine myself a lay reader, I still think I’d find this book enthralling.To be sure, it doesn’t pursue the cases it studies in an exhaustive way but it still hits the major high notes and along the way manages to impart a greater sense of the forrest level view than the tree level view of American justice.And as a forrest level view, I think it functions pretty well in its coverage of the various eras of American justice including:The colonial era. Here Dershowitz includes the Salem witch trials as well as the cases of John Peter Zenger and the Boston Massacre. Though Dershowitz for the most part has little new insight to offer on these cases, it is nonetheless interesting to hear his views of the litigation strategies used at the Zenger and Boston Massacre trials.The era constitutional era through the civil war. Here Dershowitz touches on the predictable cases like Dred Scott and John Brown but also provides interesting insights on less popularized cases that were still representative of the period.Post civil war through the Wilson administration. Here Dershowitz tells the exciting story of how the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment basically became dead letters along with the rights of the average working man.The story of Clarence Darrow. Here we find a petulant Dershowitz. As the cover material to this book asks, did Darrow resort to jury tampering? Relying on modern historical research that answers this question in the affirmative, Dershowitz proceeds to dig out what he views as being Darrow’s feet of clay. In this area, along with his treatment of many other big name attorneys, it was easy for me to see a more petulant Dershowitz, a sort of legal Nora Desmond bemoaning the successes of others perhaps more of fear that their light may outshine his diminishing flicker.Post Darrow through Vietnam. Here we see Dershowitz again touching on the major cases. He pours cold water on Darrow in terms of his handling of the Scopes Monkey trial and then proceeds to discuss the Lindbergh kidnapping as well as the wrongful (and shameful) detention of Japanese Americans during World War II. We see an almost embarassed Dershowitz as he recounts the juvenile tactics employed by the defense in the Dr. Spock draft dodging case.The Dershowitz era. Though he was a law clerk in the 60s, Dershowitz’ personal career as a lawyer didn’t begin until he started private practice. And it’s perhaps here where this book shines best as Dershowitz recounts his personal involvement in the Claus von Bulow defense, the Mike Tyson defense and of course the defense of O.J. Simpson. On that last particular, Dershowitz wisely avoids the protestations he made earlier in the book about the substantive innocence of other clients.As observed by Alexis de Tocqueville, there is no issue in American life that does not sooner or later resolve itself into some type of courtroom dispute. By focusing on the courtroom disputes, Dershowitz gives a uniquely illuminating view of both American trials and that society that begat them.This book is highly recommended reading.

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