cover image Trial by Jury

Trial by Jury

Steven Brill. Simon & Schuster, $24.95 (512pp) ISBN 978-0-671-67132-7

Originally published between 1983 and 1988 in a magazine for attorneys, these stimulating essays will also magnetize the general public with their in-depth, behind-the-headlines accounts of 16 recent trials. Particularly enlightening are articles that probe the dynamics of juror interaction. An account of a libel case against the Washington Post shows a determined foreman arguing fellow jurors into voting his way by simply wearing down those with opposing views. An article about the DeLorean trial, by contrast, maintains that although adverse pretrial publicity initially influenced some jurors, they tried to consider the evidence methodically and honestly. Other pieces examine legal precedents set by individual cases. The brutal 1981 murder of a black teenager in Mobile, Ala., for example, led not only to convictions for his murderers but also to a $7 million judgment against the United Klans of America, the first time a Klan group was held responsible for the violent acts of its members. Also in these pages: Johnson vs. Johnson, MacDonald vs. McGinniss and Israel vs. Ivan Demjanjuk. Brill is editor-in-chief of American Lawyer and author of The Teamsters. (Apr.)