I didn t know anything about the case when I was asked to take it. It was six days after the double murders. The dilemma of defending an individual a lawyer knows to be guilty is one key issue Dershowitz addresses in the new novel, which involves a kindly old man, Max Menuchen, a Lithuanian Holocaust survivor, who turns vigilante when he discovers a Nazi war criminal is living in his neighborhood. Max is arrested and tried for murder. It is a perfect summer day on Martha s Vineyard, and Dershowitz is walking through his home showing off his impressive art collection.
Artwork adorns every wall in the place almost to the point of clutter.
There are paintings, lithographs, sculptures and minimalist female forms constructed of seaweed. There is a large Andy Warhol portrait of Golda Meir. There is, he says, a story behind each piece. In nonfiction, you can give all the reasons, but they all sound lame. Every decent human being who represents guilty criminals ought to have trouble doing it.