Crimes of the Century: From Leopold and Loeb to O.J. Simpson - Hardcover

Geis, Gilbert; Bienen, Leigh Buchanan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1555533604 ISBN 13: 9781555533601

Publisher: Northeastern Univ Pr, 1998

Synopsis

Describes five dramatic trials of the twentieth century with details on the crime, the police investigation, and the court proceedings, and examines the outcome and aftermath of each trial

About this title

About the Author

Gilbert Geis is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, at the University of California, Irvine. He is a former President of the American Society of Criminology and recipient of its Edwin H. Sutherland Award for outstanding research. He is the co-author of A Trial of Witches: A Seventeenth-Century Witchcraft Prosecution. Leigh B. Bienen is a Senior Lecturer at the Northwestern University School of Law. A former public defender, she has published numerous articles on homicide, the death penalty, juries, and sex offenses. She is the co-author of Jurors and Rape.

Reviews

A look at five famous trials that transfixed a nation. Geis, a criminologist, and Bienen, who teaches at Northwestern School of Law, contend that the five cases they discussLeopold and Loeb, the Scottsboro boys,the Lindbergh baby, Alger Hiss, and O.J. Simpson have left a major imprint on our collective consciousness because they represent a mysterysuch as he ambiguity of rebuttable evidence or a defendants unwavering claims to innocence, or, in the case of Alger Hiss, the impeaccable credentials the accused and the disreputableness of his accuser. Successful trials are overly dependent on skilled, high-priced lawyersand on the passions of the times. They also argue that these cases highlight the tensions, the inadequacies, and the underlying processes of our justice system. The O.J. Simpson case, they argue, underscores the sloppiness with which judges give warrants to the policea sloppiness that passes unremarked on until a high-priced legal team is able to publicize it. The authors offer a fair analysis of celebrated cases that address the need to see that true justice is done.s -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Geis is a professor of criminology at the University of California, Irvine; Bienen is a lecturer in the law school at Northwestern University. In their recounting of five important trials, they rarely break new ground in revealing facts of the cases, though many of the previously known but obscure facts are quite interesting to those with only passing familiarity with some of them. However, the author's primary concern is the political and social background that make the cases so sensational. They describe with chilling effect the racial environment that allowed the travesty surrounding the Scottsboro "boys" trials. In the case of Alger Hiss, the authors hold up a mirror to the rapidly widening schisms in our post-war political culture. Many of the details of the Simpson trial are familiar, but Geis and Bienen offer interesting perspectives on why some important witnesses were perceived as credible. For legal scholars as well as social historians, this work is a valuable tool, and laymen should find it an enjoyable read. Jay Freeman

Noted criminologist Geis and law school lecturer Bienen present vivid accounts of five of the most famous crimes and trials of the 20th century. The cases of Leopold and Loeb, the Scottsboro boys, the Lindbergh kidnapping, Alger Hiss, and O.J. Simpson certainly merit inclusion, though the Sacco-Vanzetti case is inexplicably missing. Though each case is covered from crime through punishment (or acquittal) in fewer than 50 pages, the depth of historical detail and legal analysis is remarkable. The authors are particularly adept at placing these crimes within both their immediate historical settings and the larger societal issues (e.g., racism, Cold War anxiety, pre-World War II isolationism) that run below the surface. They likewise provide considerable insight into the effects of highly publicized trials on the popular perception of the administration of justice. After the discussion of each trial, the authors include an extensive and informative guide to books for further reading. Highly recommended for all libraries.?Patrick Petit, Catholic Univ. Law Lib., Washington, DC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Northeastern Univ Pr
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1555533604
• ISBN 13: 9781555533601
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 230