Lunch » The Trial In American Life » Quick Tips

The Trial In American Life Quick Tips

2007 non-fiction book by Robert A. Ferguson

Advanced Editor

Post a Quick Tip
Write a Review

Share recommendations and tips on 'The Trial In American Lif ...'

rate

2 Ratings: +2.0

You have exceeded the maximum length. Would you like to write a review?

Quick Tips

Be the first to post a Quick Tip on The Trial In American Life!

The Trial In American Life

2007 non-fiction book by Robert A. Ferguson

2 Ratings: +2

Write a Review

Follow

Share

Rate More Like This

Edit Topic

The Trial In American Life buy it now on amazon.com

Facts

Wiki

America's history of high-profile trials has not only captivated the public's imagination but also served as a forum for discussion of contentious issues and barometers of thought. Prof. Ferguson's new book, written for scholars and general readership, argues that we can only understand the importance of pivotal trials by examining their public impact as well as their legal significance. He accomplishes this task by bringing together courtroom transcripts, newspaper accounts, and the work of such writers as Emerson, Thoreau, William Dean Howells, and E. L. Doctorow to show what happens when courtrooms are forced to cope with unresolved communal anxieties and make legal decisions that change how America thinks about itself. How do such trials mushroom into major public dramas with fundamental ideas at stake? Why did outcomes that we now see as unjust enjoy community support at the time? At what point does overexposure undermine a trial's role as a legal proceeding?

Ultimately, such questions lead Prof. Ferguson to modern press coverage of courtrooms. While acknowledging that the media can skew perceptions, he argues forcefully in favor of television coverage – and he takes the U.S. Supreme Court to task for its failure to grasp the importance of this issue. Trials must be seen to be understood, but Prof. Ferguson reminds us that we have a duty, currently ignored, to ensure that cameras serve the court rather than the media. The Trial in American Life weaves Prof. Ferguson's ...

Communities