The Big Trial: Law as Public Spectacle, by Lawrence M. Friedman
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The Big Trial: Law as Public Spectacle, by Lawrence M. Friedman
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The trial of O. J. Simpson was a sensation, avidly followed by millions of people, but it was also, in a sense, nothing new. One hundred years earlier the Lizzie Borden trial had held the nation in thrall. The names (and the crimes) may change, but the appeal is enduring—and why this is, how it works, and what it means are what Lawrence Friedman investigates in The Big Trial.What is it about these cases that captures the public imagination? Are the “headline trials” of our period different from those of a century or two ago? And what do we learn from them, about the nature of our society, past and present? To get a clearer picture, Friedman first identifies what certain headline trials have in common, then considers particular cases within each grouping. The political trial, for instance, embraces treason and spying, dissenters and radicals, and, to varying degrees, corruption and fraud. Celebrity trials involve the famous—whether victims, as in the case of Charles Manson, or defendants as disparate as Fatty Arbuckle and William Kennedy Smith—but certain high-profile cases, such as those Friedman categorizes as tabloid trials, can also create celebrities. The fascination of whodunit trials can be found in the mystery surrounding the case: Are we sure about O. J. Simpson? What about Claus von Bulow—tried, in another sensational case, for sending his wife into a coma.? An especially interesting type of case Friedman groups under the rubric worm in the bud. These are cases, such as that of Lizzie Borden, that seem to put society itself on trial; they raise fundamental social questions and often suggest hidden and secret pathologies. And finally, a small but important group of cases proceed from moral panic, the Salem witchcraft trials being the classic instance, though Friedman also considers recent examples.Though they might differ in significant ways, these types of trials also have important similarities. Most notably, they invariably raise questions about identity (Who is this defendant? A villain? An innocent unfairly accused?). And in this respect, The Big Trial shows us, the headline trial reflects a critical aspect of modern society. Reaching across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to the latest outrage, from congressional hearings to lynching and vigilante justice to public punishment, from Dr. Sam Sheppard (the “fugitive”) to Jeffrey Dahmer (the “cannibal”), The Rosenbergs to Timothy McVeigh, the book presents a complex picture of headline trials as displays of power—moments of “didactic theater”" that demonstrate in one way or another whether a society is fair, whom it protects, and whose interest it serves.
The Big Trial: Law as Public Spectacle, by Lawrence M. Friedman- Amazon Sales Rank: #588120 in Books
- Brand: Friedman, Lawrence M.
- Published on: 2015-05-04
- Released on: 2015-03-06
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.70" h x 1.00" w x 5.80" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 224 pages
About the Author Lawrence M. Friedman is Marion Rice Kirkwood Professor at Stanford Law School. He is the author, among other works, of A History of American Law; The Legal System: A Social Science Perspective; Crime and Punishment in American History; and The Human Rights Culture.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Big Trials as Entertainment By Norman A. Pattis I’m always amazed when I read press accounts of cases I have either tried, or am in the midst of trying: the reporter’s gloss rarely reflects the complexity of the proceeding. Often, what’s reported is just plain wrong. But the public appetite for trial news appears to be insatiable. Why? My theory is Freudian: Trial is where we take the seven deadly sins – wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony – and put them on display. We identify with the accused at criminal trials: His sins are ours, only writ large; we could have done the same. The defendant must be punished or our self-restraint is mocked. Of course there are exceptions to this theory: Sometimes we identify with the alleged victim, demanding relief for him or her as though we ourselves suffered the injury. Civilization is a complex mystery. It is no wonder our discontent leaks out in morbid preoccupation with the sorrows of others. Lawrence M. Friedman’s latest book, The Big Trial: Law As Public Spectacle, is a scholarly treatment of our fascination with trials. Although he doesn’t adopt the Freudian point of view, he doesn’t contradict it either. In Friedman’s view, big trials are part entertainment and part teaching -- or, as he puts it more times than I can count, “didactic” – exercises. The boundaries of community norms are explored at trial. We teach one another what is, and what is not, to be tolerated. Studying trials are also useful social history: “Arguments and strategies in jury trials are windows into social stereotypes and norms, into what people think and believe,” Friedman writes. “They can help show us which norms, ideas, and attitudes pack the most punch, at various points in history.” His discussion of the Lizzie Borden case – she was acquitted for the murder of her father and step-mother in 1892 Fall River, Massachusetts -- prompted chilling memories of a classmates of mine in Chicago standing on my doorstep to chant:“Lizzie Borden had an axeShe gave her mother 40 whacks,When she saw what she had doneShe gave her father 41.”How did the tale of this double-murder find its way from Massachusetts to Chicago half a century later? Did the poem’s power to terrify me have anything to do with the fact that my father had recently disappeared? I knew about Lizzie Borden in a personal way before I ever learned of the crimes with which she was charged.The Internet is changing trial coverage by the media. There are websites, such as WildAboutTrial.com, dedicated to nothing but coverage of high-profile cases. Daily newspapers struggle to meet the demand for coverage – depressed budgets requires reporters do more with less.Should trials be televised? I say not. Watching another lawyer try a case is, for me, like watching ice melt on a cool October morning – I just won’t do it. I suspect most trial watchers don’t really pay attention from gavel to gavel. Television is a distraction to the participants, sometimes intimidating witnesses, other times emboldening them to seek their fifteen minutes of fame from the stand. Remember Kato from O.J.’s case? I love Friedman’s books. He’s written previously on the criminal justice system and on prisons. He’s a careful researched and has a scholar’s love of explanatory footnotes. If you are fascinated about why and how some trials go viral, why the general public adopts other people’s troubles as their own, read this brief and insightful little book. I liked it so much I will re-read it soon.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Enjoyable with or without the theoretical musings By Anson Cassel Mills Lawrence Friedman is perhaps the most respected, and certainly the most prolific, legal historian of our day. But he’s also a great storyteller; in fact, he writes detective fiction on the side. Not surprisingly then, The Big Trial makes for enjoyable reading even if one is skeptical of the author’s categorization of big trials as (for instance) “tabloid,” celebrity,” or “worm in the bud.”My own feeling is that big trials became big because they were (in the words of the Heath brothers) “sticky.” They combined aspects of simplicity, concreteness, and the unexpected in tales that could often be expounded at length and for profit. There’s little need for Friedman’s recourse to “suppressed desires” or “didactic theater” when big trials can be more easily explained by the rise of literacy, greatly expanded leisure time, and the opportunity for a host of people to make some money.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five Stars By UncleSam0352 Great!
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