THE JURY RETURNS

by Louis Nizer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 11, 1966

Certainly a strong part of the appeal of Louis Nizer's Life in Court (1961) was his ability to initiate the reader into all the aspects of the law, principles, precedents, procedures, again so much in evidence here--from the idealism of the issues at the top, through what he calls the ""topography of the trial,"" down to some of the incidental byplay (who sits where). This of course highlights the intimacy-immediacy factors, and for those who objected to Mr. Nizer's very articulate ego, he seems more subdued. This is a selection of four cases, the last of which, since it engaged the whole entertainment world from Madison Avenue to Sunset Boulevard, should have a comparable appeal to the Quentin Reynolds-Pegler case in the earlier book. This was the redlabeling, black-listing of John Henry Faulk, the folk humorist, and as he put it--""it's a hard fight with a short stick"" against the men and organizations that put him off television. Second longest, and second best, the successful ""breakthrough in penology"" in which Nizer was able to reprieve the death sentence of Paul Crump who through rehabilitation in prison became a sort of ""St. Paul on the spot,"" an altogether different man from the boy convicted on a cinch robbery-murder charge. There's a short piece on a divorce action in New York, illustrating the inequities of this state's divorce laws, and a longer playback of the bribe or innocent loan given by trailer magnate Roy Fruehauf to teamster president David Beck. The success of the first book seems an obvious referral to a large readership.

Pub Date: Nov. 11, 1966

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION