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: "[M]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. Agent, Eric Lasher.
(Oct.)
