STREETFIGHTER IN THE COURTROOM: The People's Advocate

Garry gives no quarter in the courtroom--""I believe in arguing every point no matter how small""--and doesn't hesitate to politicize the defense of his clients. Blunt, opinionated, and as determined as a bird dog, Garry represented the accused in some of the most famous trials of the Sixties: Huey Newton, prosecuted for the murder of an Oakland cop; Bay Area anti-war activists, indicted for ""criminal conspiracy""; Inez Garcia, a feminist cause celebre after she killed a man to avenge her rape. But Garry's reputation as a militant leftist lawyer was established prior to the turbulent Sixties--he was responsible for the legal concept of ""diminished responsibility"" in two criminal trials of the Fifties and he staged numerous legal assaults on the loyalty oath during the McCarthy era. Most of this book is devoted to the famous courtroom dramas and Garry--or his co-author Goldberg--tends to recap cases witness by witness from opening statement to blistering cross-examination. Not given to the histrionics of, say, William Kunstler, Garry nonetheless commands admiration for his driving energy in defense of First Amendment rights and his absolute dedication to ""the underdog,"" however unpopular. Here, the rather prosaic presentation of some sensational cases is offset by Garry's unwavering personal convictions and his determination to represent those persons and opinions most threatened by public hysteria or government vendetta.