Elmer Bertz (1 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Moment of Madness: The People vs. Jack Ruby; by Elmer Gertz; with a Preface by Jon R. Waltz, Professor of Law, at Northwestern University School of Law; Follett Publishing Company, Chicago, 1968. First printing. From the blurb Can justice be fairly and impartially administrated in a notorious and well-published criminal case? This question was posed in the most dramatic manner by the actions of a little-known nightclub operator in Dallas, Texas. On November 24, 1963, Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald in the glare of television lights, in full view of millions of people. Under the American system of justice, would he receive a fair trial? In March, 1964 the answer was in: after a sensational trial that held the attention of the world, Ruby was sentenced to death. The verdict appeased some Americans who, horrified by any violence, deeply resented "the murder of a mystery." Others, including most attorneys and observers of the courts, were profoundly disturbed because Jack Ruby had not, in fact, received that exact justice to which he was entitled under the laws of the state of Texas and the Constitution of the United States. Then began the arduous struggle by a group of attorneys to correct this historic injustice. Jack Ruby, by his act, had put the American system of justice on trial. Moment of Madness, a thorough history of the case by Elmer Gertz, one of the attorneys for Ruby, reveals that, if the judicial system may break down at times, it is still capable of correcting the errors that result in injustice. This book, 564 pages is in fine condition in a very-good dust jacket that is now in a protective mylar wrap.