Michael S Lief

This book is a bit challenging to review since it is essentially a book of reviews itself. Lief, Caldwell, and Bycel present what they believe to be the ten greatest closing arguments in modern law in this intriguing compilation. The arguments are all prefaced with a brief overview of the circumstances of the case, a biography of the attorney delivering it, and a few highlights that the authors believe make it an exceptional closing argument. This format was easy to follow and gave an appropriate amount of context to the argument.

What makes this book most interesting is the breadth of both topics and history covered with the arguments. Major conflicts in the United States’ history are present, including racial and feminist issues, as well as military conduct and the Nüremburg trial. Others included famous murder trials such as the Helter Skelter case, and Leopold and Loeb, as well as a worker’s union case, a drug entrapment case, and a case regarding irresponsibility in a nuclear plant. The trials are organized in a way that keeps the reader’s interest, beginning with the dramatic and detailed case against the Nazis after World War II, and completing with the tragic and horrifying case regarding the massacre at My Lai in Vietnam caused by American soldiers. Each case was carefully selected, and though the authors note that these may not be the best known cases, or even the greatest closing arguments, they are the best preserved and most impactful cases in our history.

One thing Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury does especially well is describing the circumstances around each of the cases. An intriguing narrative throws the reader right into the thick of the trial, and does so objectively so that the reader does not feel biased one way or another. The way the rules of the court had to be compiled from many different forms of litigation for the Nüremburg trial (as it was an international undertaking) gave an interesting perspective to the rigor and toil that trial must have taken. The fact that in the 1960s, a jury in Mississippi was unable to rule the assassination of a black civil rights leader as murder due to his race is presented as the reason for why the case must be retried for the third time, and nothing more. The prefacing information was beneficial, but allowed the closing arguments to stand for themselves.

Although it was one of my favorite closing arguments to read, I was under the impression that the argument given by Clara Shortridge Foltz was included just to cover the topic of women’s rights, rather than because it was a particularly powerful closing argument. The actual case it was closing was not explained, and the portion of the argument that dealt with the case was not included. Instead, it was a rebuttal of the opponent’s remark about her being a woman, insinuating that the jury should side with him solely because he was a man. While this was an interesting and poignant speech, I think an actual closing argument that won a momentous case given by a woman would have been a more powerful example of women’s rights in practice.

The commentary by the authors given before each of the arguments is usually very instructive as to why the argument was selected for this book. The way the attorney relates to the jury, the strategy of the argument, and the selective use of witnesses and evidence are all pointed to as markers of a great closing argument. As this is a compilation of the greatest closing arguments, I would have liked a little more variation in the reasons for which the arguments were included. Then again, perhaps there are only a few tactics that can truly make an argument great. The decision of the jury and the court are revealed before the argument, and while the case is expectedly decided in favor of the side whose argument is presented, giving away the final ruling before the argument is a bit anticlimactic.

Overall, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury gives excellent insight into some of the most prominent and important cases in our history. While it may not be a how-to guide by which attorneys can craft their closing arguments, it is an exciting look at the social history that our nation has developed and gives laud to the masterful attorneys who delivered each one. If for nothing else, read this book to better understand and appreciate our history and our judicial system.… (more)

The brilliant, the "American" thing, about these Arguments is that they are adversarial; we hear the ventilation of each "side" arrayed over civil rights disputes.
From Introduction: "When the legislators will not or cannot legislate, Americans have turned to the judicial system....In the courtroom, the fundamentals of our democratic heritage and our future come together." [2a]
"Not every paradigm shift is announced by the thundering hoofbeats of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse". [1]… (more)