The Devil's Advocates: Greatest Closing Arguments in Criminal Law

In The Devil's Advocates, Michael S. Lief and H. Mitchell Caldwell turn to the dramatic crimes and trials of criminal law. The eight famous cases in this riveting collection have set historical precedents and illuminated fundamentals of the American criminal justice system. Future president John Adams illustrates the principle that even the most despised and vilified criminal is entitled to a legal defense in the argument he delivers on behalf of the British soldiers who shot and killed five Americans during the Boston Massacre. Clarence Darrow provides a ringing defense of a black family charged with using deadly force after defending themselves from a violent mob - an argument that refines the concept of self-defense. And perhaps the best-known case is that of Ernesto Miranda, the accused rapist whose trial led to the critically important Miranda decision, which underpins procedure at every criminal arrest.

Each case presented is given legal and cultural context, including a brief historical introduction, biographical sketches of the attorneys involved, highlights of trial testimony, analysis of the closing arguments and a summary of the trial's impact on its participants and our country. In clear, jargon-free prose, the authors make these pivotal cases come to vibrant life for every reader.