The Devil's Advocates
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Narrated by:
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Gabrielle De Cuir
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Stephen Hoye
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Stefan Rudnicki
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Mirron E. Wills
About this listen
Among the examples: future President John Adams establishes the right to a fair trial as he argues on behalf of the British soldiers who shot and killed five Americans during the Boston Massacre. The original temporary insanity defense involves a prominent congressman who gunned down a district attorney over an extramarital affair. And perhaps the most precedent-setting case is that of Ernesto Miranda, an accused rapist who confesses to the crime without having been notified of his Fifth Amendment right and the right to counsel.
Here is your ringside seat to gripping drama, as well as to the shaping of the legal system that we thrill to and curse at today.
©2006 Michael S Lief and H. Mitchell Caldwell (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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History remembers John Adams as a Founding Father and our country’s second president. But in the tense years before the American Revolution, he was still just a lawyer, fighting for justice in one of the most explosive murder trials of the era. On the night of March 5, 1770, shots were fired by British soldiers on the streets of Boston, killing five civilians. The Boston Massacre has often been called the first shots of the American Revolution.
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Fascinating
- By Jean on 04-23-20
By: Dan Abrams, and others
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The Lynching
- The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down the Klan
- By: Laurence Leamer
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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On a Friday night in March 1981, Henry Hays and James Knowles scoured the streets of Mobile in their car, hunting for a black man. The young men were members of Klavern 900 of the United Klans of America. They were seeking to retaliate after a largely black jury could not reach a verdict in a trial involving a black man accused of the murder of a white man. The two Klansmen found 19-year-old Michael Donald walking home alone.
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Very Readable
- By Jean on 06-10-16
By: Laurence Leamer
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On the Courthouse Lawn
- Revised Edition
- By: Sherrilyn Ifill, Bryan Stevenson - foreword
- Narrated by: LisaGay Hamilton
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Nearly 5,000 black Americans were lynched between 1890 and 1960. Over 40 years later, Sherrilyn Ifill examines the numerous ways that this racial trauma still resounds across the United States. While the lynchings and their immediate aftermath were devastating, the little-known contemporary consequences, such as the marginalization of political and economic development for black Americans, are equally pernicious. A landmark book, On the Courthouse Lawn is a much-needed and urgent road map for communities finally confronting lynching's long shadow.
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Born in Salisbury
- By rondcorbinAmazon Customer on 01-07-20
By: Sherrilyn Ifill, and others
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By Hands Now Known
- Jim Crow's Legal Executioners
- By: Margaret A. Burnham
- Narrated by: Diana Blue
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Margaret A. Burnham challenges our understanding of the Jim Crow era by exploring the relationship between formal law and background legal norms in harrowing cases between 1920 and 1960. From rendition, the legal process by which states make claims to other states for the return of their citizens, to battles over state and federal jurisdiction and the outsize role of local sheriffs in enforcing racial hierarchy, Burnham maps the criminal legal system of the mid-twentieth-century South, and traces the line from slavery to the legal structures of this period—and through to today.
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Heartbreaking
- By sharon on 11-24-22
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Bending Toward Justice
- The Birmingham Church Bombing That Changed the Course of Civil Rights
- By: Doug Jones, Greg Truman, Rick Bragg - foreword
- Narrated by: Doug Jones
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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On September 15, 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, was bombed, killing four young girls. Who were the perpetrators? Due to reluctant witnesses and racial prejudice, the FBI closed the case without any indictments. But as Martin Luther King, Jr., claimed, "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Bending Toward Justice is a detailed account of this key moment in our national struggle for equality and the long road to prosecuting those responsible for the tragedy, related by an author who played a major role in the investigation.
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Great piece of History
- By rita on 03-08-19
By: Doug Jones, and others
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The Assassin's Accomplice
- Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln
- By: Kate Clifford Larson
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Assassin’s Accomplice, historian Kate Clifford Larson tells the gripping story of Mary Surratt, a little-known conspirator in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln, and the first woman ever to be executed by the federal government. A Confederate sympathizer, Surratt ran the boarding house where the conspirators met to plan Lincoln’s assassination. Set against the backdrop of the Civil War, The Assassin’s Accomplice tells the intricate story of the Lincoln conspiracy through the eyes of its only female participant, offering a fresh perspective on America’s most famous murder.
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Did She or Didn't She
- By c a cornelius on 06-04-21
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Tough Cases
- Judges Tell the Stories of Some of the Hardest Decisions They've Ever Made
- By: Russell F. Canan - editor, Gregory E. Mize - editor, Frederick H. Weisberg - editor
- Narrated by: Isabel Keating, Richard Ferrone
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In Tough Cases, judges from different kinds of courts in different parts of the country write about the case that proved most difficult for them to decide. Some of these cases received international attention: the Elián González case in which Judge Jennifer Bailey had to decide whether to return a seven-year-old boy to his father in Cuba after his mother drowned trying to bring the child to the United States, or the Terri Schiavo case in which Judge George Greer had to decide whether to withdraw life support from a woman in a vegetative state over the wishes of her parents.
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Puts being a judge in perspective
- By David Bigelow Stouffer on 01-14-20
By: Russell F. Canan - editor, and others
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Anatomy of Injustice
- A Murder Case Gone Wrong
- By: Raymond Bonner
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In January 1982, an elderly white widow was found brutally murdered in the small town of Greenwood, South Carolina. Police immediately arrested Edward Lee Elmore, a semiliterate, mentally retarded black man with no previous felony record. His only connection to the victim was having cleaned her gutters and windows, but barely ninety days after the victim’s body was found, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. Elmore had been on death row for eleven years when a young attorney named Diana Holt first learned of his case.
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A miscarriage of justice if I've ever seen it
- By Education is KEY on 10-11-17
By: Raymond Bonner
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The Sewing Girl's Tale
- A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America
- By: John Wood Sweet
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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On a moonless night in the summer of 1793 a crime was committed in the back room of a New York brothel—the kind of crime that even victims usually kept secret. Instead, seventeen-year-old seamstress Lanah Sawyer did what virtually no one in US history had done before: she charged a gentleman with rape. Her accusation sparked a raw courtroom drama and a relentless struggle for vindication that threatened both Lanah’s and her assailant’s lives.
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Great for history buffs!
- By LibertyHillbilly on 02-09-23
By: John Wood Sweet
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The Great Dissent
- How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind and Changed the History of Free Speech in America
- By: Thomas Healy
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Free speech as we know it comes less from the First Amendment than from a most unexpected source: Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. A lifelong skeptic, he disdained all individual rights, including the right to express one's political views. But in 1919, it was Holmes who wrote a dissenting opinion that would become the canonical affirmation of free speech in the United States.
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How a 78 year old man can learn & change his mind
- By Jean on 09-23-13
By: Thomas Healy
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Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency
- By: Dan Abrams, David Fisher
- Narrated by: Adam Verner, Dan Abrams
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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At the end of the summer of 1859, 22-year-old Peachy Quinn Harrison went on trial for murder in Springfield, Illinois. Abraham Lincoln, who had been involved in more than 3,000 cases - including more than 25 murder trials - during his two-decades-long career, was hired to defend him.
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Great Courtroom Drama
- By Jean on 04-26-19
By: Dan Abrams, and others
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Gideon's Trumpet
- How One Man, a Poor Prisoner, Took His Case to the Supreme Court - and Changed the Law of the United States
- By: Anthony Lewis
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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A history of the landmark case of Clarence Earl Gideon's fight for the right to legal counsel.
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best book on the subject
- By J.B. Price on 06-12-18
By: Anthony Lewis
What listeners say about The Devil's Advocates
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anne E. Schulte
- 07-12-18
great for lawyers or students of the Constitution
Very interesting, each story and accompanying closing argument. Each in context of history, making subject more interesting.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kristi R.
- 10-16-13
Trials that get bogged down in too much detail.
Is there anything you would change about this book?
I thought it could have been much shorter. They seemed to go into the life story of each person involved in each trial. That is fine if the book is about one trial, but when they have 6 or so to hit you with, it's a bit much.
What was most disappointing about Michael S. Lief and H. Mitchell Caldwell ’s story?
I thought the Ruby Ridge trial seemed very biased in the telling and had a hard time getting past that calling someone the "n" word didn't make you a racist, etc.
Did the narration match the pace of the story?
I don't recall much of the narrator, so he didn't get in the way of the story, but didn't bring anything to it either.
Do you think The Devil's Advocates needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
Do one case at a time and don't include so much that doesn't add to the story.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Meredith Parrish
- 04-04-18
A new perspective on cases I learned in Law school.
Law school would have been so much more interesting if we’d learned the “backstories” this book shares along with the actual legal arguments. Who could have predicted that Miranda would be saved another criminal conviction as the beneficiary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in his own case?? These stories enhance any discussion of the legal principles addressed. Laws are meant to be applied to every day situations and this book fleshes that out.
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- Cynthia
- 08-28-13
American History Pivot Points
My friends and I, playing cops and robbers during first grade recess, always solemnized each capture by administering the Miranda Warning perfectly. No, we weren't living in a challenging neighborhood - Jack Webb's Dragnet and Adam 12 were early evening rerun staples out local ABC affiliate.
20 years later, in law school, Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436, its constitutional basis, and its numerous exceptions, took weeks of my criminal law class. I did wonder who Ernesto Miranda was; whether he had actually committed the crime he was convicted of; how his case ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court; and what ended up happening to him. This book answers those questions, and more, about Miranda and other key criminal cases.
Michael S. Lief and H. Mitchell Caldwell provide a careful historical and cultural framework for these cases, and detailed personal histories of both the accused and the victims. Chapter 1, which deals with lynching in the south, is especially chilling.
These are the trials that are in the book, in the order that they are in (thanks Google Books for the table of contents), and I'm including the Audible concordance for anyone who wants to go to a specific case:
Ch 1 (Audible 1-2). When Mob Rule Trumps the Rule of Law. The unfortunate case of a man lynched in 1906, after the US Supreme Court agreed to review his capital conviction for rape establishes that the state has an obligation to protect prisoners in its custody.
Ch 2 (Audible 1-4). When the Constable Blunders. In 1956, evidence becomes inadmissible because it is obtained illegally and it is the "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" - even if the evidence is porn.
Ch 3 (Audible 1-6). Rules of Engagement. An (overly) sympathetic look at Randy Weaver and Ruby Ridge in 1992. Regardless, Gerry Spence's tactics were legendary (he presented no defense) and his hours long closing argument was compelling.
Ch 4 (Audible 2-3). Defending the Despised. Future president John Adams defends the British soldiers accused of killing American colonists in the Boston Massacre.
Ch 5 (Audible 2-5). You Have the Right to Remain Silent. The Miranda decision.
Ch 6 (Audible 2-7). The Black Doctor and the White Mob. Clarence Darrow successfully defends a Black family of professionals on trial for a 1925 killing in Detroit when a blue collar White mob attacked after the family moved into the neighborhood.
Ch 7 (Audible 3-3). The Trial of the (Nineteenth) Century. Congressman Daniel Sickles uses the temporary insanity defense after killing Phillip Barton Key, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, in 1859. Scandal knows no century.
Ch 8 (Audible 3-5). Genius, Scoundrel, Traitor. Former Vice President Aaron Burr's trial for the one crime listed in the U.S. Constitution, treason. Good history of Burr, trial a bit boring.
There were three narrators on this Audible, and that mostly worked - a few rough spots, but they weren't jarring enough so that I was distracted from the book.
This is under the Audible category "Mysteries and Thrillers - True Crime" but it's misplaced. It belongs in History.
When I finished this, I went looking for the first two books in the Closing Argument Chronicles - "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury" (2000) (famous trials) and "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down" (civil rights) (2006). They aren't on Audible, darn it.
[If you are using a smart phone and would like to refer to this review later for the Table of Contents, press on the title of the review until you get the option to copy, copy the link, and paste it into your Notes.
If this review helped, please let me know by clicking 'yes']
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69 people found this helpful
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- Leslie RP
- 04-08-18
Thorough
Enjoyed story and presentation. Learning the back story and aftermath of the cases was helpful to better understand the environment and attitude of the era
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mark Mears
- 06-26-18
Very informative
Very informative.
The flow of the text was great, meaning while legal stuff is normally like watching paint dry, this is fascinating. The brilliance of the attorneys, and the far-reaching magnitude of the decisions are brought home very well.
Except for the decision read of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall. I am a fan, but it was painful to listen to, and probably didn’t help that it seemed a miscarriage to let Burr go. Which did the courtesy to prove later.
Excellent read (listen). Worth the time!
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Overall
- B. Riddick
- 03-22-09
Excellent Book even if you aren't a lawyer
I am neither a lawyer nor do I work in the legal profession, however, I found this book to be an excellent compendium of some VERY important cases in 200 years of American Law.
Darrow's comments on racism were (sadly) 40 years ahead of their time. And the closing from the Ruby Ridge case was excellent. The arguments that took place during Miranda proved to me that the Warren Court was just looking for a case to use as a way to make law. Listen to this book and you will not only learn about some great criminal case decisions, but sociology and history as well. I wish the other 2 in the series were available on Audible.
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21 people found this helpful
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- Mark N.
- 04-17-16
Fantastic
This book was captivating. I had no idea of some of the history of law. The readers were very good. Some of the best voice acting I've ever heard. This book I highly recommend.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Joy
- 10-26-07
Hiistorically interesting
But very long closing statements which, to me, in parts were with very confusing language could be of interest to a law student.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Matthew
- 08-12-09
Terribly uneven and inconsistant.
I really enjoyed the first two cases and thought I had found a really great book... then it went off a cliff.
The book looks at famous or significant closing statements and the cases in which they played a significant role. Unfortunately, the treatment of the third case, Weaver's murder charge for the killing of a Federal Marshal at Ruby Ridge, was so one-sided and skewed as to call into question the entire book.
Due to space limitations, I can only cite two examples of the bias and spin that really poisoned that chapter. First, the authors use of language was deliberately designed to obscure the facts particularly by using "passive voice" to hide who committed an act when it not favorable to their agenda. In one example the authors stated that that the Branch Dividians at Wako TX "were dead by the end of the [federal assault]" strongly implying that the Federal govt killed them. However, it is well established they were dead before the assault, most killed by fellow cult members. Another case was the lengths they went to to explain that Randy Weaver was not a white supremacist. Apparently, despite the fact that he attended Arrian Nation meetings, wore a swastika, and his daughter called black children "N----s", he was not a racist. They explain that he does not believe that whites are superior to blacks, only that they should live separately... they do not mention that he believes that this means that all African-Americans (and every other minority for that matter) should be expelled from America. These are just two examples of any number of obscurantist and slanted bits of writing found in that chapter.
The rest of the book seems alright and even interesting and insightful. The problem is that having such a blatantly biased and one-sided treatment casts the whole book into doubt. I cannot trust even the portions that seem balanced after that chapter.
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15 people found this helpful