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The Court of Last Resort: The True Story of a Team of Crime Experts Who Fought to Save the Wrongfully Convicted
Edgar Award Winner: True stories of miscarriages of justice, legal battles, and landmark reversals, by the creator of Perry Mason.
In 1945, Erle Stanley Gardner, noted attorney and author of the popular Perry Mason mysteries, was contacted by an overwhelmed California public defender who believed his doomed client was innocent. William Marvin Lindley had been convicted of the rape and murder of a young girl along the banks of the Yuba River, and was awaiting execution at San Quentin. After reviewing the case, Gardner agreed to help—it seemed the fate of the “Red-Headed Killer” hinged on the testimony of a colorblind witness.
Gardner’s intervention sparked the Court of Last Resort. The Innocence Project of its day, this ambitious and ultimately successful undertaking was devoted to investigating, reviewing, and reversing wrongful convictions owing to poor legal representation, prosecutorial abuses, biased police activity, bench corruption, unreliable witnesses, and careless forensic-evidence testimony. The crimes: rape, murder, kidnapping, and manslaughter. The prisoners: underprivileged and vulnerable men wrongly convicted and condemned to life sentences or death row with only one hope—the devotion of Erle Stanley Gardner and the Court of Last Resort.
Featuring Gardner’s most damning cases of injustice from across the country, The Court of Last Resort won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. Originating as a monthly column in Argosy magazine, it was produced as a dramatized court TV show for NBC.
In 1945, Erle Stanley Gardner, noted attorney and author of the popular Perry Mason mysteries, was contacted by an overwhelmed California public defender who believed his doomed client was innocent. William Marvin Lindley had been convicted of the rape and murder of a young girl along the banks of the Yuba River, and was awaiting execution at San Quentin. After reviewing the case, Gardner agreed to help—it seemed the fate of the “Red-Headed Killer” hinged on the testimony of a colorblind witness.
Gardner’s intervention sparked the Court of Last Resort. The Innocence Project of its day, this ambitious and ultimately successful undertaking was devoted to investigating, reviewing, and reversing wrongful convictions owing to poor legal representation, prosecutorial abuses, biased police activity, bench corruption, unreliable witnesses, and careless forensic-evidence testimony. The crimes: rape, murder, kidnapping, and manslaughter. The prisoners: underprivileged and vulnerable men wrongly convicted and condemned to life sentences or death row with only one hope—the devotion of Erle Stanley Gardner and the Court of Last Resort.
Featuring Gardner’s most damning cases of injustice from across the country, The Court of Last Resort won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. Originating as a monthly column in Argosy magazine, it was produced as a dramatized court TV show for NBC.
348 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1952
204 people are currently reading
422 people want to read
About the author
Erle Stanley Gardner
1,370 books824 followersErle Stanley Gardner was an American lawyer and author of detective stories who also published under the pseudonyms A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J. Kenny, Les Tillray, and Robert Parr.
Innovative and restless in his nature, he was bored by the routine of legal practice, the only part of which he enjoyed was trial work and the development of trial strategy. In his spare time, he began to write for pulp magazines, which also fostered the early careers of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. He created many different series characters for the pulps, including the ingenious Lester Leith, a "gentleman thief" in the tradition of Raffles, and Ken Corning, a crusading lawyer who was the archetype of his most successful creation, the fictional lawyer and crime-solver Perry Mason, about whom he wrote more than eighty novels. With the success of Perry Mason, he gradually reduced his contributions to the pulp magazines, eventually withdrawing from the medium entirely, except for non-fiction articles on travel, Western history, and forensic science.
See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erle_Sta...
Innovative and restless in his nature, he was bored by the routine of legal practice, the only part of which he enjoyed was trial work and the development of trial strategy. In his spare time, he began to write for pulp magazines, which also fostered the early careers of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. He created many different series characters for the pulps, including the ingenious Lester Leith, a "gentleman thief" in the tradition of Raffles, and Ken Corning, a crusading lawyer who was the archetype of his most successful creation, the fictional lawyer and crime-solver Perry Mason, about whom he wrote more than eighty novels. With the success of Perry Mason, he gradually reduced his contributions to the pulp magazines, eventually withdrawing from the medium entirely, except for non-fiction articles on travel, Western history, and forensic science.
See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erle_Sta...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
September 11, 2017
Must read book.
Author/attorney tells the stories of innocent and not so innocent prisoners. Some of the prisoners are about to be put to death, how hard everyone involved worked on their own dime. He had good ideas about prisons, lawyers, court system and how much politics got in the way. Instead of reading and listening these suggestions, things got worse. Especially with for profit prisons, more drugs and no good gun control laws.
Author/attorney tells the stories of innocent and not so innocent prisoners. Some of the prisoners are about to be put to death, how hard everyone involved worked on their own dime. He had good ideas about prisons, lawyers, court system and how much politics got in the way. Instead of reading and listening these suggestions, things got worse. Especially with for profit prisons, more drugs and no good gun control laws.
August 3, 2017
The Court of Last Resort is a powerful relevant book that relooks at the entire legal ecosystem from the standpoint of justice. Law and justice are not the same and the court of last resort tells multiple stories where miscarriage of justice was averted by the intervention of a qualified team of experts.
Erle Stanley Gardner, the author of Perry Mason, tells a honest account of how the team was formed and takes examples of real cases where the team relooked at the evidences and testimonies to protect innocent men who were prosecuted for crimes they didn't commit. Rather than talking about the heroic investigation, the book explores why such a miscarriage is possible in the (then) US legal system.
The latter part of the book explores the flaws in the ecosystem and Mr.Gardner makes a convincing argument - of Prosecutor score cards, of Juvenile rehabilitation programs, of Penitentiaries (jails), of Police investigations without resources. Gardner urges the system to decide if objective of a sentence is punishment or reformation. The argument around cost of a crime was hard hitting and it was a real eye opener.
I found this highly relevant even today in the Indian judicial system where court rooms are piling up with unfinished cases dragging on for years and years. I could reflect our own callous mindset to push for stricter laws (meaning longer sentences and stricter punishments) losing sight of the bigger picture of what it does to the legal ecosystem. Personally, I used to think a jail sentence is the solution to crime (not capital punishment) but after reading the book, I started wondering if we are in fact a society that can give 2nd chances. The answer is no and we are only hiding away the 'stigma' of society behind iron doors, hoping out of sight is a good enough start.
The argument that punishment dissuades others from committing a crime gets watered down in the face of increasing crime rate and outdated laws. The judicial system has not kept pace with the changes and reforms are hard to come by.
I used to read the foreword without fail in every Perry Mason book where Mr.Gardner dedicates the book to a person and explains why. I could recall a few names which featured in this book!
This is a must read for anyone who is interested in law and definitely readable even if you are not.
Erle Stanley Gardner, the author of Perry Mason, tells a honest account of how the team was formed and takes examples of real cases where the team relooked at the evidences and testimonies to protect innocent men who were prosecuted for crimes they didn't commit. Rather than talking about the heroic investigation, the book explores why such a miscarriage is possible in the (then) US legal system.
The latter part of the book explores the flaws in the ecosystem and Mr.Gardner makes a convincing argument - of Prosecutor score cards, of Juvenile rehabilitation programs, of Penitentiaries (jails), of Police investigations without resources. Gardner urges the system to decide if objective of a sentence is punishment or reformation. The argument around cost of a crime was hard hitting and it was a real eye opener.
I found this highly relevant even today in the Indian judicial system where court rooms are piling up with unfinished cases dragging on for years and years. I could reflect our own callous mindset to push for stricter laws (meaning longer sentences and stricter punishments) losing sight of the bigger picture of what it does to the legal ecosystem. Personally, I used to think a jail sentence is the solution to crime (not capital punishment) but after reading the book, I started wondering if we are in fact a society that can give 2nd chances. The answer is no and we are only hiding away the 'stigma' of society behind iron doors, hoping out of sight is a good enough start.
The argument that punishment dissuades others from committing a crime gets watered down in the face of increasing crime rate and outdated laws. The judicial system has not kept pace with the changes and reforms are hard to come by.
I used to read the foreword without fail in every Perry Mason book where Mr.Gardner dedicates the book to a person and explains why. I could recall a few names which featured in this book!
This is a must read for anyone who is interested in law and definitely readable even if you are not.
April 9, 2017
I was given an ARC of the ebook to review by Netgalley and Open Road Media, my thanks to them.
The Court of the Last Resort: The True Story of a Team of Crime Experts Who Fought To Save the Wrongfully Convicted by Erle Stanley Gardner
Written by Erle Stanley Gardner, an attorney and also the writer of the popular Perry Mason Mysteries who passed away in 1970. I found this to be a very fulfilling book for the true crime fan, filled with lots of early cases of men who'd been wrongfully convicted or even set up, and after suffering years in prison with little hope and no money, they somehow managed to connect with this wonderful group. A kind of early days "Innocence Project". Originally published in 1952 and updated with more cases, it features Erle Stanley Gardner a lawyer and writer of what began as a monthly column in Argosy Magazine. Gardner, along with others who took on the cause of those who claimed to have been wrongfully convicted, and some who were awaiting execution. It shows what they went through back then to investigate a case and then try to get something done if they discovered probable innocence.
The Court of the Last Resort: The True Story of a Team of Crime Experts Who Fought To Save the Wrongfully Convicted by Erle Stanley Gardner
Written by Erle Stanley Gardner, an attorney and also the writer of the popular Perry Mason Mysteries who passed away in 1970. I found this to be a very fulfilling book for the true crime fan, filled with lots of early cases of men who'd been wrongfully convicted or even set up, and after suffering years in prison with little hope and no money, they somehow managed to connect with this wonderful group. A kind of early days "Innocence Project". Originally published in 1952 and updated with more cases, it features Erle Stanley Gardner a lawyer and writer of what began as a monthly column in Argosy Magazine. Gardner, along with others who took on the cause of those who claimed to have been wrongfully convicted, and some who were awaiting execution. It shows what they went through back then to investigate a case and then try to get something done if they discovered probable innocence.
August 5, 2017
This is an excellent book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story about the birth of those types of organizations who take on the legal plight of inmates who are able to convince them they really are innocent. It is worth reading if you like true crime types of books.
October 21, 2019
Long before the Innocence Project, there was Erle Stanley Gardner and his Court of Last Resort. Gardner had already been a successful lawyer and pulp fiction writer when he was approached by a defense lawyer in 1945 for his help in an appeal in which he believed an innocent man had been convicted of murder. He recruited other experts in the field to help and they published their activities in Argosy magazine. Readers were riveted, and they began getting letters regarding other cases. These cases kept them busy traveling all over the country, investigating leads, interviewing witnesses, reviewing files, etc., etc., at their own expense. Just astounding to me, the selflessness of this work!
Gardner was incredibly forward thinking and progressive, way ahead of his time. After describing some of the cases they'd worked on, he lays out issues he sees in the justice system and his ideas for criminal justice reform and prison reform. Long before Brady, he was decrying the underhandedness of prosecutors who withheld exculpatory evidence and challenged them to do the right thing and share ALL evidence for fairness and to see that justice would truly be served.
Sadly, some of his advice was not heeded, and we still have the same issues, or worse, almost 70 years after this book was written. He talked about the failures of our prison system and how we were just creating more hardened criminals and more overcrowded prisons. (!!!!!!) He talked about the drug problem ("dope") and how making narcotics illegal only added to the intrigue, and the price, causing addicts to commit more crimes in order to feed their habit, thus creating a vicious cycle. (Again -- !!!!!) We can see, with the passage of time, how spot on he was
Really fascinating and eye opening. Always knew of Gardner as the creator of Perry Mason, but I have newfound respect for him. I think this should be required reading for anyone involved in the criminal justice system.
Gardner was incredibly forward thinking and progressive, way ahead of his time. After describing some of the cases they'd worked on, he lays out issues he sees in the justice system and his ideas for criminal justice reform and prison reform. Long before Brady, he was decrying the underhandedness of prosecutors who withheld exculpatory evidence and challenged them to do the right thing and share ALL evidence for fairness and to see that justice would truly be served.
Sadly, some of his advice was not heeded, and we still have the same issues, or worse, almost 70 years after this book was written. He talked about the failures of our prison system and how we were just creating more hardened criminals and more overcrowded prisons. (!!!!!!) He talked about the drug problem ("dope") and how making narcotics illegal only added to the intrigue, and the price, causing addicts to commit more crimes in order to feed their habit, thus creating a vicious cycle. (Again -- !!!!!) We can see, with the passage of time, how spot on he was
Really fascinating and eye opening. Always knew of Gardner as the creator of Perry Mason, but I have newfound respect for him. I think this should be required reading for anyone involved in the criminal justice system.
April 1, 2017
The Court of the Last Resort by Erle Stanley Gardner
This author deserves to win The Nobel Peace Prize.
Many Thanks for my ARC.
UPDATED
This book was originally published in 1952 has been updated with fresh material won The Edgar Award. Although Criminal lawyers with a keen understanding with trying cases and sometimes appealing them all the way to the Supreme courts. Even then, last ditch efforts have to be made as in filing a writ of habeas corpus hearing when all other efforts have been exhausted. The author Erle Stanley Gardner has dedicated this densely written new volume to his friend Harry Steeger.
Harry Steeger was the owner of "Argosy Magazine." "The Argosy Magazine" devoted free publication to inform the American people to have knowledge in print about various cases taking place giving the people inside information regarding miscarriages of justice. The donated space in the magazine was to involve the public to be able to read about these cases, but to care enough to take action by writing letters to elected officials to spur them to facilitate these officials to correct miscarriages of justice. The magazine was comprised of a team of investigators who donated their valuable time and expertise to study the evidence and see that justice was served. That exposure of independent careful reexamination of evidence gave many people back their freedom who were falsely accused. This is what was known as a team of experts that comprised "The Court of Last resort."
"The Court of Last Resort" could be compared to the program today that exonerates the falsely accused on death row by using DNA evidence to overturn a conviction. Both processes are slow and sometimes takes years to correct the errors of the judicial system. Procedures have to be followed and in many instances a prosecutor has presented a case to a jury and secured a favorable verdict, the prosecuting attorney is reluctant to consider the possibility that such a verdict could have been erroneous, or an innocent person was prosecuted. In many instances there are other behind-the-scenes activities, political pressures brought to bear, and there is of course, the worst handicap of all--official indifference.
Many of the cases in this book took place in the earliest part of the twentieth century. They are all very different but are nonetheless interesting. All of the participants in this book that gave freely of their time and expertise who took on wrongfully convicted individuals helped to make this world a better place. They all have my utmost respect and admiration. They were deluged with letters and applications from all over the country. They were conscientious trailblazers to help free many who were framed or convicted by circumstantial evidence or witnesses who were mistakenly identified for crimes they were innocent of. This was an impressive book and the thoroughness of re-examination in the pursuit of justice and liberty without compensation has convinced me that this group of individuals deserve the highest honor of my reading "The Court of Last Resort." It is my hope that this book is read by practicing attorneys and all of those that wish to make this world a better place.
This author deserves to win The Nobel Peace Prize.
Many Thanks for my ARC.
UPDATED
This book was originally published in 1952 has been updated with fresh material won The Edgar Award. Although Criminal lawyers with a keen understanding with trying cases and sometimes appealing them all the way to the Supreme courts. Even then, last ditch efforts have to be made as in filing a writ of habeas corpus hearing when all other efforts have been exhausted. The author Erle Stanley Gardner has dedicated this densely written new volume to his friend Harry Steeger.
Harry Steeger was the owner of "Argosy Magazine." "The Argosy Magazine" devoted free publication to inform the American people to have knowledge in print about various cases taking place giving the people inside information regarding miscarriages of justice. The donated space in the magazine was to involve the public to be able to read about these cases, but to care enough to take action by writing letters to elected officials to spur them to facilitate these officials to correct miscarriages of justice. The magazine was comprised of a team of investigators who donated their valuable time and expertise to study the evidence and see that justice was served. That exposure of independent careful reexamination of evidence gave many people back their freedom who were falsely accused. This is what was known as a team of experts that comprised "The Court of Last resort."
"The Court of Last Resort" could be compared to the program today that exonerates the falsely accused on death row by using DNA evidence to overturn a conviction. Both processes are slow and sometimes takes years to correct the errors of the judicial system. Procedures have to be followed and in many instances a prosecutor has presented a case to a jury and secured a favorable verdict, the prosecuting attorney is reluctant to consider the possibility that such a verdict could have been erroneous, or an innocent person was prosecuted. In many instances there are other behind-the-scenes activities, political pressures brought to bear, and there is of course, the worst handicap of all--official indifference.
Many of the cases in this book took place in the earliest part of the twentieth century. They are all very different but are nonetheless interesting. All of the participants in this book that gave freely of their time and expertise who took on wrongfully convicted individuals helped to make this world a better place. They all have my utmost respect and admiration. They were deluged with letters and applications from all over the country. They were conscientious trailblazers to help free many who were framed or convicted by circumstantial evidence or witnesses who were mistakenly identified for crimes they were innocent of. This was an impressive book and the thoroughness of re-examination in the pursuit of justice and liberty without compensation has convinced me that this group of individuals deserve the highest honor of my reading "The Court of Last Resort." It is my hope that this book is read by practicing attorneys and all of those that wish to make this world a better place.
July 16, 2017
This book is a product of its time, which makes it quite amazing, showing how far the justice system has got and also how some problems have been around for quite a while. So long before the Innocence Project, long before DNA and surveillance cameras, a small group gathered around one magazine started to investigate the stories of those claiming to have been wrongly convicted of terrible deeds. With the evidence available at the time and also fighting against a system that's not always happy to admit to being wrong, the group manages to achieve quite impressive results, while also meeting disappointment at the inability to help some people, while other times wasting resources on the guilty.
The book does not have that many stories of the wrongly convicted and some are presented briefly as the cases were still pending. Actually the last part of the book is dedicated to exploring the entire reality behind the issues with the system - life as a policeman, corruption, prison system, redemption, drug problems, punishment and the legislation itself. At the end it provides some advice for changing the system for the better, most of which still makes a lot of sense. Those must have been scary times, when science was just beginning to be used in court and executions were carried our pretty quickly. Overall, great book about how a system can change and how lives are affected by crime and incarceration, as long as one can tolerate some not so flattering references to certain groups, especially women.
The book does not have that many stories of the wrongly convicted and some are presented briefly as the cases were still pending. Actually the last part of the book is dedicated to exploring the entire reality behind the issues with the system - life as a policeman, corruption, prison system, redemption, drug problems, punishment and the legislation itself. At the end it provides some advice for changing the system for the better, most of which still makes a lot of sense. Those must have been scary times, when science was just beginning to be used in court and executions were carried our pretty quickly. Overall, great book about how a system can change and how lives are affected by crime and incarceration, as long as one can tolerate some not so flattering references to certain groups, especially women.
July 1, 2017
With the recent interest in wrongful convictions that certain TV shows have reignited, this book is timely and interesting for anyone who wants to know more about the history of the innocence project and how it came into being.
This is an interesting book. It not only tells in detail how the team came together to help free innocent people, but it also describes the motives behind everything they did. The author did a lot for justice, but it wasn't an easy road for him or anyone else involved. I have a lot of respect for people who go out of their way to obtain justice and that's mostly what this book is about.
If you are the type of person that enjoys legal history and true crime stories, then you will probably find this is just right for you.
Overall, I thought this was a really good, very well organised and smartly written book that I am happy to recommend to others.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
This is an interesting book. It not only tells in detail how the team came together to help free innocent people, but it also describes the motives behind everything they did. The author did a lot for justice, but it wasn't an easy road for him or anyone else involved. I have a lot of respect for people who go out of their way to obtain justice and that's mostly what this book is about.
If you are the type of person that enjoys legal history and true crime stories, then you will probably find this is just right for you.
Overall, I thought this was a really good, very well organised and smartly written book that I am happy to recommend to others.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
August 5, 2020
"Perhaps I have mentioned our contact with Rabbi Sperka in more detail than would have been the case if it weren’t for the uneasy feeling that here in this country, as elsewhere, there is a soil in which someone might try to plant the seed of religious intolerance. We need to be on our guard lest some crazed mind in our own country might find it politically profitable to nourish seeds of prejudice."
June 10, 2017
Notable for telling the story of how Gardner, yes, the Perry Mason author, brought together forensic experts, investigators and attorneys in an early version of the Innocence Project, freeing a number of unjustly convicted people. Not the most thrilling read, but interesting for how far ahead of his time Gardner was.
June 25, 2022
I enjoyed reading about the cases and some of his anecdotes. A solid 80% of the book I liked; that other 20%, though was quite a lot of repetitive philosophizing that he could have quite competently weaved into the previous chapters and been much more impactful.
February 19, 2018
I could not follow the story, so I gave up.
March 14, 2022
A Fascinating And Gripping Read
The Court of Last Resort was originally published in 1952 and has been updated in this book. It is the first effort in America to put together a team to try to evaluate and possibly reverse wrongfully convicted prisoner’s sentences.
There is a lot of detail, and the court of last resort tells multiple stories where miscarriage of justice was averted by the intervention of a qualified team of experts who give their time free to help and try to save some of the prisoners who are innocent and about to be put to death or are in for life.
It is fascinating how this was done and I was fascinated when I read the different stories in this book by Erle Gardner. It is amassing how a great deal written in this book is still relevant today regarding prosecutions, defences, sentencing, as well as later review of questionable convictions.
A well-researched book and a great read when science was just beginning to be used in court and executions were carried out quickly. How the author explains how a system can change, and how lives are affected by crime.
Very Sad to see not much has changed in today's society and that the scary thing is the same issues exist today that existed in 1952.
I am part of the ARC group for Wildblue Press and BookSirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Court of Last Resort was originally published in 1952 and has been updated in this book. It is the first effort in America to put together a team to try to evaluate and possibly reverse wrongfully convicted prisoner’s sentences.
There is a lot of detail, and the court of last resort tells multiple stories where miscarriage of justice was averted by the intervention of a qualified team of experts who give their time free to help and try to save some of the prisoners who are innocent and about to be put to death or are in for life.
It is fascinating how this was done and I was fascinated when I read the different stories in this book by Erle Gardner. It is amassing how a great deal written in this book is still relevant today regarding prosecutions, defences, sentencing, as well as later review of questionable convictions.
A well-researched book and a great read when science was just beginning to be used in court and executions were carried out quickly. How the author explains how a system can change, and how lives are affected by crime.
Very Sad to see not much has changed in today's society and that the scary thing is the same issues exist today that existed in 1952.
I am part of the ARC group for Wildblue Press and BookSirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 3, 2023
The Court of Last Resort, a sort of early version of the Innocence Project, was founded by Gardner and the editor of Argosy Magazine. Together with investigators, lie detection experts, and psychologists, they investigated cases where it was highly possible that the wrong person had been convicted. Some of these are fascinating, some are infuriating, and some annoying, when not all the evidence can be discussed because the case is ongoing. The recommendations that Gardner makes about law enforcement are as true now as they were in 1954: better compensation for police officers, more support for prisons and rehabilitation, less interference in the law by politicians, and more thought being put into legislation. Gardener’s style is a little turgid and repetitious at times, but still a fascinating read.
July 14, 2022
This is a scary book. So many innocent people are getting sent to prison, mostly due to inapt policing work. All the reasons Gardner has mentioned in final few chapters may be true, but none of them justifies taking decades of someone's life for something they did not do. Makes me to be afraid of the police more than of criminals. I'm glad the team of TCLR were able to set so many people free.
This is a good book as a lesson to police and lawyers equally, and unfortunately almost everything that is mentioned about the society is still true and inspire of all the scientific advancements, not much has changed.
This is a good book as a lesson to police and lawyers equally, and unfortunately almost everything that is mentioned about the society is still true and inspire of all the scientific advancements, not much has changed.
January 22, 2022
Still the same.
This book was first published in 1952. The books begins with how "The Court of Last Resort" came to be. The middle of the book relates a few of the cases the group worked. The last part of the book lays out what could be done to bring the public/taxpayers, law enforcement and penologists together to reduce crimes. To me, in today's society, the same issues exist today that existed in 1952.
This book was first published in 1952. The books begins with how "The Court of Last Resort" came to be. The middle of the book relates a few of the cases the group worked. The last part of the book lays out what could be done to bring the public/taxpayers, law enforcement and penologists together to reduce crimes. To me, in today's society, the same issues exist today that existed in 1952.
September 28, 2022
This seemed like a book I would love. An early version of the Innocence Projects of today mixed with getting the public interested like so many podcasts do now should have been great. I don't know if it's just the age of the book (originally published in the 1950s), but I found it to be tedious and long at times. I easily got bored with it and frequently didn't want to pick it up again. I've been a reader of true crime for many years but this one didn't hold my attention all that well.
February 20, 2020
Most Interesting
When I picked up this book, I thought I knew a great deal about the author, but nothing about the contents of this book. My experience with Earl Stanley Garner was through the many years I watched the TV series “Perry Mason“. I knew I would clean much information from the write up on what this book contained, however I must admit I learned so much more.
When I picked up this book, I thought I knew a great deal about the author, but nothing about the contents of this book. My experience with Earl Stanley Garner was through the many years I watched the TV series “Perry Mason“. I knew I would clean much information from the write up on what this book contained, however I must admit I learned so much more.
March 22, 2021
Very interesting
When I saw this book written by author Erle Stanley Gardner my mind immediately went to Perry Mason. I had no idea what a truly selfless person this man was. This book tells an amazing story of men that really put themselves out there to make a difference. Their ideas were quite forward for the time period. An interesting and eye opening read.
When I saw this book written by author Erle Stanley Gardner my mind immediately went to Perry Mason. I had no idea what a truly selfless person this man was. This book tells an amazing story of men that really put themselves out there to make a difference. Their ideas were quite forward for the time period. An interesting and eye opening read.
November 13, 2023
True Crime readers, this one was a kick. Written in the 20's through the 40's, it shows we have really not come a long way. The author of Perry Mason fame, along with Argosy magazine, had an innocence project all their own. Interesting glimpse from the past. Some of it is hilarious. I really enjoyed it and believe other true crime readers will as well.
March 16, 2021
My grandfather traveled a lot in the 1930 - 1950's. I recall him reading Gardner books at home. I decided to try one to see what they were like. The pace was too ploding and expansive for me and I stopped after 50 pages. I can see why he enjoyed it it on long train trips he took for work.
June 29, 2021
Too much lecturing
Great concept which is now the innocence project. Mr Gardner spends much of the book lecturing on many old fashioned and archaic topics and diatribes which are unreadable today.
Great concept which is now the innocence project. Mr Gardner spends much of the book lecturing on many old fashioned and archaic topics and diatribes which are unreadable today.
April 7, 2025
This covered fewer cases than I had expected, but the last few chapters had a lot to say about the state of the American justice system in the 1950s, a state that has changed seemingly little in the intervening decades.
August 29, 2020
I had had no idea that Erle Stanley Gardner had done so much work on behalf of the wrongly convicted.
April 18, 2021
Erle Stanley Gardner identified many issues about the justice system that we still discuss today. Very interesting reading.
January 25, 2016
So I got into "Making a Murderer," like a lot of us out there, and I was properly outraged. Then I poked around on the web and found a few things that complicated the case. Still felt outraged. Then read the recent Kathryn Schulz piece in the New Yorker that poked some pretty big holes in the filmmakers' case. Still feel outraged, and I don't think it was her intention to deny that reaction. But, you know, those are pretty big holes.
Along the way she mentions an old Erle Stanley Gardner column in Argosy that was aimed at the same thing--seeing whether there had been miscarriages of justice and what could be done about them. The crucial difference, she noted, was that Gardner did not assume his clients' innocence (the problem she found in "Making a Murderer") but rather re-investigated the cases to see what he found, and he was entirely open to the possibility that the people on whose behalf he dug might well still be guilty. Having never read a Perry Mason novel, I figured this would be my chance. And the book is pretty solid; rather than a preening recital of all the good he's done, Gardner spends the time thinking about where the justice system goes wrong and why, as well as where it gets things right. (In one of the cases he mentions, the guy turns out to be guilty, and his investigative team finds that out.) I don't think anyone has ever made the case that Gardner was one of detective fiction's great stylists, but reading this gave me the same respect for his ability to keep the pot boiling that I feel for that other lawyer-turned-plotter, John Grisham. (My wife's favorite Grisham bon mot: "For no apparent reason, Mitch liked Italian food.") A lot of this is about a lost America, particularly in the names. I remember reading this S.S. van Dine novel, The "Canary" Murder Case, way back when, and a minor character is named Tony "the Dude" Skeel. I thought this was ridiculous, an upper-crust-y American guessing and failing to name a convincing ethnic character or two. (Van Dine's detective, Philo Vance, is an unbelievably irritating Holmes knockoff from top to bottom. He would doubtless have favored eugenics and immigration restriction in the 1920s, had he been alive.) Point being, I thought that was a name that nobody who had ever, I don't know, read a newspaper would actually make up. But the real-life figures in this book include Clarence Boggie, Moritz Peterson, Worth Bagley, Coke Brite, Mortado Abraham (in a murder-in-the-Syrian-community story rife with political skulduggery from 1930s Detroit that Loren D. Estleman or someone should fictionalize) and, best of all, Orel J. Skeen, warden of a West Virginia prison.
S.S. van Dine, I'm sorry for doubting you.
Along the way she mentions an old Erle Stanley Gardner column in Argosy that was aimed at the same thing--seeing whether there had been miscarriages of justice and what could be done about them. The crucial difference, she noted, was that Gardner did not assume his clients' innocence (the problem she found in "Making a Murderer") but rather re-investigated the cases to see what he found, and he was entirely open to the possibility that the people on whose behalf he dug might well still be guilty. Having never read a Perry Mason novel, I figured this would be my chance. And the book is pretty solid; rather than a preening recital of all the good he's done, Gardner spends the time thinking about where the justice system goes wrong and why, as well as where it gets things right. (In one of the cases he mentions, the guy turns out to be guilty, and his investigative team finds that out.) I don't think anyone has ever made the case that Gardner was one of detective fiction's great stylists, but reading this gave me the same respect for his ability to keep the pot boiling that I feel for that other lawyer-turned-plotter, John Grisham. (My wife's favorite Grisham bon mot: "For no apparent reason, Mitch liked Italian food.") A lot of this is about a lost America, particularly in the names. I remember reading this S.S. van Dine novel, The "Canary" Murder Case, way back when, and a minor character is named Tony "the Dude" Skeel. I thought this was ridiculous, an upper-crust-y American guessing and failing to name a convincing ethnic character or two. (Van Dine's detective, Philo Vance, is an unbelievably irritating Holmes knockoff from top to bottom. He would doubtless have favored eugenics and immigration restriction in the 1920s, had he been alive.) Point being, I thought that was a name that nobody who had ever, I don't know, read a newspaper would actually make up. But the real-life figures in this book include Clarence Boggie, Moritz Peterson, Worth Bagley, Coke Brite, Mortado Abraham (in a murder-in-the-Syrian-community story rife with political skulduggery from 1930s Detroit that Loren D. Estleman or someone should fictionalize) and, best of all, Orel J. Skeen, warden of a West Virginia prison.
S.S. van Dine, I'm sorry for doubting you.
August 30, 2023
This is an amazing book! Wonderful for anyone interested in true crime or justice. The history of the progenitor of the Innocence Projects.
ESG and a friend who managed a publications empire, including Argosy Magazine, decided, because of one case that was brought to the attention of ESG, that they would gather a (very) few experts to help them and try to get the verdict overturned, and they wrote their work up in serialized form for publication in Argosy. ESG said that the Court of Last Resort should be the voice of the people.
Of course it got a lot of attention, and soon mail and phone calls flooded in with cries for help from crowds of incarcerated, their lawyers, and their families and friends.
ESG details the working out of several of the cases they handled, some with the wrongly judged just days away from execution.
It shows corrupt police and DAs, defence attorneys who just didn't care to work too hard, terrible piling up of coincidenses, and the deadly dangers of both police tunnel vision and eyewitness identification. It's fascinating and horrifying. Even if you suspected some of these things and/or had even seen some, seeing the stupidity, malice and politics of so many cases put down in black and white by reputable people (as opposed to conspiracy theorist types) will make you realise that we must always watch and don't let the small lapses go since they inevitable grow into large menaces.
I docked it one star because of the old-fashioned style of writing. In our day it sort of reads like a history lesson written by a lawyer - which is just what it is, but never-the-less makes it less than quick reading.
ESG and a friend who managed a publications empire, including Argosy Magazine, decided, because of one case that was brought to the attention of ESG, that they would gather a (very) few experts to help them and try to get the verdict overturned, and they wrote their work up in serialized form for publication in Argosy. ESG said that the Court of Last Resort should be the voice of the people.
Of course it got a lot of attention, and soon mail and phone calls flooded in with cries for help from crowds of incarcerated, their lawyers, and their families and friends.
ESG details the working out of several of the cases they handled, some with the wrongly judged just days away from execution.
It shows corrupt police and DAs, defence attorneys who just didn't care to work too hard, terrible piling up of coincidenses, and the deadly dangers of both police tunnel vision and eyewitness identification. It's fascinating and horrifying. Even if you suspected some of these things and/or had even seen some, seeing the stupidity, malice and politics of so many cases put down in black and white by reputable people (as opposed to conspiracy theorist types) will make you realise that we must always watch and don't let the small lapses go since they inevitable grow into large menaces.
I docked it one star because of the old-fashioned style of writing. In our day it sort of reads like a history lesson written by a lawyer - which is just what it is, but never-the-less makes it less than quick reading.
March 14, 2018
I received this one as an arc on NetGalley.
Originally published in 1952, The Court of Last Resort has been republished with more content. Gardner originally wrote The Court of Last Resort as a monthly column for Argosy magazine. It was highly regarded by the public and featured stories of those wrongly accused for crimes. This was basically the first example of what Netflix and popular tv loves to do which is investigate crimes and create docuseries, except they did it in writing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I am a true crime buff anyway so seeing this one pop up in NetGalley immediately caught my interest. I really enjoyed Gardner's writing style and the amount of work that his team put into their investigations in order to uncover the truth. It's easy to see why books/tv series/documentaries like this catch on.
Originally published in 1952, The Court of Last Resort has been republished with more content. Gardner originally wrote The Court of Last Resort as a monthly column for Argosy magazine. It was highly regarded by the public and featured stories of those wrongly accused for crimes. This was basically the first example of what Netflix and popular tv loves to do which is investigate crimes and create docuseries, except they did it in writing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I am a true crime buff anyway so seeing this one pop up in NetGalley immediately caught my interest. I really enjoyed Gardner's writing style and the amount of work that his team put into their investigations in order to uncover the truth. It's easy to see why books/tv series/documentaries like this catch on.
November 23, 2015
A set of fascinating true to life "Perry Mason" mysteries.
May 1, 2017
This book, written by Earle Stanley Gardner, was originally published in 1952. This edition has been updated by Open Road Media, with new material included. You might think that it would be somewhat dated, but I found it to be remarkably relevant for today and quite interesting.
Garner, who died in 1970, was a prolific writer, most famous for his Perry Mason mysteries. He was also a lawyer and an activist who worked to improve the criminal justice system. This nonfiction book describes his activities with an organization he founded, called "The Court of Last Resort" that had the goal of freeing innocent people from prison.
Although I expected to learn a lot, I didn't expect to be so well entertained. There was not a dull moment and I eagerly read on. I was sorry when it ended. I learned a lot about the criminal justice system and how things go wrong, resulting in innocent people being incarcerated. He discussed all the main players: the police, the courts, the people, the media, politics, and how they interact.
He described different scenarios in which people might be convicted unjustly, illustrating these with true stories from his own experiences with The Court of Last Resorts. What these innocent people endured, and how difficult it was to free them, made for fascinating reading. The lawyers, and investigators that worked tirelessly without pay were heroic examples of what a group of dedicated people can accomplish.
He made a number of suggestions about how the justice system could be improved. I found these quite insightful, things I had never considered before. Sadly, many of the problems they faced in 1952 are still with us today and these ideas are still relevant. The Court of Last Result was dissolved soon after Gardner left in 1960, but other organizations such as the famous Innocence Project have taken on this Herculean task.
I highly recommend this book for a fascinating look at the criminal justice system with its successes and failures. The stories of how these innocent people went from everyday life to suddenly ending up in prison are amazing and hard to put down. If you enjoy true crime novels, or legal thrillers, you will enjoy this.
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Garner, who died in 1970, was a prolific writer, most famous for his Perry Mason mysteries. He was also a lawyer and an activist who worked to improve the criminal justice system. This nonfiction book describes his activities with an organization he founded, called "The Court of Last Resort" that had the goal of freeing innocent people from prison.
Although I expected to learn a lot, I didn't expect to be so well entertained. There was not a dull moment and I eagerly read on. I was sorry when it ended. I learned a lot about the criminal justice system and how things go wrong, resulting in innocent people being incarcerated. He discussed all the main players: the police, the courts, the people, the media, politics, and how they interact.
He described different scenarios in which people might be convicted unjustly, illustrating these with true stories from his own experiences with The Court of Last Resorts. What these innocent people endured, and how difficult it was to free them, made for fascinating reading. The lawyers, and investigators that worked tirelessly without pay were heroic examples of what a group of dedicated people can accomplish.
He made a number of suggestions about how the justice system could be improved. I found these quite insightful, things I had never considered before. Sadly, many of the problems they faced in 1952 are still with us today and these ideas are still relevant. The Court of Last Result was dissolved soon after Gardner left in 1960, but other organizations such as the famous Innocence Project have taken on this Herculean task.
I highly recommend this book for a fascinating look at the criminal justice system with its successes and failures. The stories of how these innocent people went from everyday life to suddenly ending up in prison are amazing and hard to put down. If you enjoy true crime novels, or legal thrillers, you will enjoy this.
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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