Great American Trials

Great American Trials covers 378 historically and legally significant or notorious courtroom battles.

Murder, Mayhem, And Milestones... You've read about them, heard about them, and may even have watched some of them unfold in your own living room. Now, relive the most notorious legal cases in U.S. history. Great American Trials captures the drama of 201 of the most famous-and infamous-courtroom battles, including * The Boston Massacre Trials (1770) * The Lizzie Borden Trial (1893) * The Scottsboro Trials (1931) * Brown v. Board of Education (1954) * The Patty Hearst Trial (1976) * The Mapplethorpe Obscenity Trial (1990) * The William Kennedy Smith Trial (1991) * The Rodney King Civil Rights Trial (1993) Nearly 150 photographs and illustrations provide the backdrop for these exciting-and emotionally charged-real-life dramas.

Embedded in each of the narratives is an analysis of the use by prosecutors and defense attorneys of trial advocacy techniques (involving discovery, pre-trial motions, jury selection, direct testimony, cross-examination, the introduction of forensic exhibits, and summations) to craft compelling stories about what happened. Also assess the impact of cultural, social, and political values on the proceedings and the outcomes.

Presents summaries of some of the most significant and celebrated trials in American history, each with the names of key players, the charges, location, a narrative of circumstances leading up to the trial, the trial itself, the verdict and sentence, and a discussion of the impact of the trial. Arranged chronologically from 1950 through 2001.

The 35 most famous trials of the 20th century, as recorded by the people who were there including Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Brian Masters, Damon Runyon and other star turns in true crime writing. Among the cases featured: the longest ever US trial, of deadly duo Bianchi and Buono for the Hillside Stranglings of 12 young women; Brady and Hindley - the iconic case of multiple child murder by a couple obsessed with sadism, Nazism and pornography; America's trial of the 1990s - O.J. Simpson; the media frenzy around Bruno Hauptmann's alleged kidnap and murder of the infant son of American hero, Charles Lindbergh; gagged press during the 1968 trial of eleven-year-old Mary Bell, convicted for killing two little boys; Oscar Wilde - one of the earliest trials to earn blanket press coverage; and the nine-month trial of 'one of the most evil, satanic men who ever walked the face of the earth', Charles Manson.

Discusses how school choice, misapplied standards of accountability, the No Child Left Behind mandate, and the use of a corporate model have all led to a decline in public education and presents arguments for a return to strong neighborhood schools and quality teaching.