Kathryn Cullen-DuPont

"This book is as fascinating as it is huge. It belongs permanently alongside of the spot in the living room where you usually rest, for the frequent perusal...this is a book that I will continue to read for years...it is the one book on American judicial proceedings that has much for everybody." --Elmer Gertz, Esq., distinguished professor emeritus of law at John Marshall Law School, writing for REAL CRIME DIGEST

"This informative book is highly recommended...."
--LIBRARY JOURNAL

"The 200 cases recounted...were chosen for historical significance, public controversy, public attention, legal ingenuity, and literary fame....But those criteria only hint at the richness of this book...an extraordinary introduction for anyone contemplating a legal career; for the rest of us it is a fine reference and a delight to read." --THE TRIBUNE

Editor: Edward W. Knappman. Contributing Authors: Stephen G. Christianson, Kathryn Cullen-DuPont, Teddi DiCanio, Colin Evans, Elizabeth Gwillim, Bernard Ryan, Jr., and Thomas C. Smith.

Highlights:

Great American Trials provides an abundance of information on the most significant and celebrated trials in U.S. history, from 1937 through the early 1990s. Included are brief and accurate summaries of trials known for their historic or legal significance, political controversy, public attention, legal ingenuity, or literary fame. Great American Trials covers a broad scope of trials, including:

- Salem Witchcraft Trials (1692)
- Dred Scott Trial (1856)
- Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Trial (1911)
- Teapot Dome Trials (1926)
- Alger Hiss Trials (1949-50)
- U.S. v. Hoffa (1964)
- Charles Manson Trial (1970-71)
- Roe v. Wade (1973)
- In the Matter of Baby M (1987)
- The William Kennedy Smith Trial (1991)
- and many more--200 courtroom cases in all

Each trial begins with the facts--setting up the key players, the charges, and site of the trial--and continues with a narrative that explains the circumstances that led to the trial, pre-trial maneuvers, the trial itself, the judgment, appeals (if any), and any subsequent implications of the trial.