Trials of the Century: Courtroom Battles that Changed the Nation, 1913 - Today (Portable Professor S

by Alan M. Dershowitz

Courtroom trials are the stuff of great human drama, with involving tales scandalous deeds, reversals of fortune, impassioned rhetoric. But if trials are theater, they are also history, and can provide a window through which to examine the attitudes and passions of their day. In this eye-opening course, esteemed professor, author, and civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz brings his unique insights and experience to bear on some of the most celebrated and intriguing U.S. courtroom battles of the past one hundred years, presenting a fascinating discussion covering the facts of each case, the nature of the available evidence, the courtroom tactics used by the defense and the prosecution, and the contemporary cultural milieu of the trial. He also illuminates the larger, more far-reaching issues of the cases, and the ways in which they shaped the landscape of American justice. Biography Alan M. Dershowitz is a best-selling author of more than twenty books of fiction and non-fiction. He has been described as one of America's "most distinguished defenders of individual rights" and "the best-known criminal lawyer in the world," and is known for defending such clients as Claus von Bulow, O.J. Simpson, and Mike Tyson. He has advised presidents, United Nations officials, prime ministers, governors, lawmakers, and business leaders about legal and political issues. He is currently the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he has been a faculty member since the age of twenty-five.

Genres: Nonfiction

CD-ROM

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He is known for his career as an attorney in several high-profile law cases and commentary on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

He has spent most of his career at Harvard, where, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor in its history, until Noam Elkies took the record. Dershowitz still holds the record as the youngest person to become a professor of law there.

As a criminal appellate lawyer, Dershowitz has won thirteen out of the fifteen murder and attempted murder cases he has handled. He successfully argued to overturn the conviction of Claus von Bülow for the attempted murder of Bülow's wife, Sunny. Dershowitz was the appellate advisor for the defense in the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting details as well as insights. I was hoping for a more in-depth study of landmark trials.

[Haley Krumblis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyed the cases, but wanted him to go more in depth on the cases themselves. And a little less of his opinion thrown in there. Still love hearing about important cases though.

[Migg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and informative, I just which that Mr. Dershowitz could have explored and expanded all cases in depth. The case most fascinating to me is the Bush-Gore Case. It's the only case that, according to Mr. Dershowitz, has embarrased the Supreme Court court, when by partisan action, the justices that have been ascended to their position by a Republican administration, stopped the vote counting to favor a son-of-a-Bush.