And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
Greatest Closing Arguments Protecting Civil Libertie
-
- $24.99
-
- $24.99
Publisher Description
The second volume in a must-have trilogy of the best closing arguments in American legal history
Every day, Americans enjoy the freedom to decide what we do with our property, our bodies, our speech, and our votes. However, the rights to these freedoms have not always been guaranteed. Our civil rights have been assured by cases that have produced monumental shifts in America's cultural, political, and legal landscapes.
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down showcases eight of the most exciting closing arguments in civil law -- from the Amistad case, in which John Quincy Adams brought the injustice of slavery to the center stage of American politics, to the Susan B. Anthony decision, which paved the way to success for women's suffrage, to the Larry Flynt trial, in which the porn king became an unlikely champion for freedom of speech. By providing historical and biographical details, as well as the closing arguments themselves, Lief and Caldwell give readers the background necessary to fully understand these important cases, bringing them vividly to life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This primer on eight of the most influential civil rights cases in American history offers a lot more than just closing arguments. Such cases as those of the Amistad and Karen Ann Quinlan regarding the "right to die" are detailed and important parts of the trials discussed. The cases selected by the authors (Lief, a deputy DA in California; and Caldwell, a law professor at Pepperdine University, also coauthored Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury) cover a wide range of civil rights issues from colonial times (John Peter Zenger) to the present, and the lawyers' words remain resonant: "edicine must be the servant of man; and... technology must be the servant of medicine," argued Paul Armstrong in favor of allowing comatose Karen Ann Quinlan to die. In clear, concise introductions, the authors also give the necessary background to understand the cases: for instance, in discussing the right to die, the authors discuss the history of euthanasia. Some may quibble with the selected cases the Roe v. Wade case is omitted, for instance but the book offers a valuable walk through landmarks of American legal history.
