基本説明
New in paperback. Hardcover was published in 1999. It shows that attorneys have no choice but to treat the jury trial, from begining to end, as an artful performance.
Full Description
How do lawyers sway jurors in the heat of a trial? Why do the best trial lawyers seem uncannily able to get the verdict they want? In answering these questions, folklorist Sam Schrager vindicates -- but with a twist -- the widespread belief that lawyers are actors who manipulate the truth. He shows that attorneys have no choice but to treat the jury trial, from beginning to end, as an artful performance: as story-telling combat in which victory most often goes to the man or woman who has superior control of craft. Drawn from fieldwork in the Philadelphia courts and at the Smithsonian Institution's American Trial Lawyers program, The Trial Lawyer's Art gives a remarkable, in-depth look at this craft of performance. It examines how lawyers exploit a case's dramatic potential, how they enact mythically potent themes, how they project personal authority, and how they use cultural identity -- their own and their opponents' racial, gender, class, and local affiliations -- all to make themselves and their stories persuasive to a jury.
Schrager depicts the performance styles of some of the nation's most artful criminal and civil advocates: in Philadelphia, prosecutor Roger King, defender Robert Mozenter, and the legendary Cecil B. Moore; from around the country, such litigating stars as Roy Barrera, Penny Cooper, Jo Ann Harris, Tony Serra, and Michael Tigar. These lawyers reflect candidly on their courtroom calculations and share revealing \u0022war stories\u0022 about their work. Integrating performance insights with evocative portrayals of unfolding trials, The Trial Lawyer's Art offers a no-holds-barred analysis of the place of skill versus evidence in the American justice system. In doing so, it raises vital questions about the moral challenges that legal and other professions now face and sheds new light on the role of stories in American life.
Contents
Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: A Storytelling Craft 1. Drama Two Decisive Hours Momentum Nailing Things Down 2. Style The Trial Poetics of Identification Repertoires Strains in Performance Interlude: A Legendary Lawyer 3. Identity Sources of Emotion Local Inflections Gendered Plotlines A Mix of Class, Gender, and Race 4. Deception and Truth The Client The Jury The Judge The Expert The Lawyer Conclusion: In the Service of... Notes Bibliography Index
