O.J. the Last Word
One of the nation's most prominent trial lawyers, Spence (The Making of a Country Lawyer, LJ 10/15/96) has never lost a criminal case. He presents here a compelling postmortem of the O.J. Simpson criminal trial and exposes the shortcomings of all the parties involved, especially the prosecution. Spence is particularly critical of lead prosecutor Marcia Clark, who, he feels, was the wrong messenger presenting the wrong case to the wrong audience. He points out the prosecution's failures, from jury selection through closing arguments, especially noting the inability of Clark and coprosecutor Chris Darden to keep their emotions under control, their insistence on using a sterile approach in presenting expert testimony, and their reluctance to present critical evidence in a matter-of-fact, folksy manner that the jury could have appreciated. The race issue is also discussed, especially in terms of how the prosecution could have more successfully presented the case to a jury for whom the sociology of race was of paramount, though not ostensible, importance. An excellent book for both current and aspiring lawyers.?Phillip Young Blue, New York State Supreme Court Criminal Branch Lib., New YorkCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.