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Linguistics & Semiotics, Courts & Trial Practice
The Trial Lawyer's Art by Samuel Alan Schrager β€” book cover

The Trial Lawyer's Art

by Samuel Alan Schrager
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Overview

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 addressing these questions, folklorist Sam Schrager validates - with a twist - the widespread belief that lawyers are actors who manipulate the truth. Schrager shows that attorneys have no choice but to treat the jury trial as an artful performance, as storytelling combat in which victory most often goes to the lawyer with superior control of craft. Read about the performance styles of some of the nation's most artful criminal and civil advocates - including litigating stars from around the country, such as Roy Barrera, Penny Cooper, Jo Ann Harris, Tony Serra, and Michael Tigar - and from Philadelphia, prosecutor Roger King, defender Robert Mozenter, and the legendary Cecil B. Moore.

Synopsis

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 addressing these questions, folklorist Sam Schrager validates - with a twist - the widespread belief that lawyers are actors who manipulate the truth. Schrager shows that attorneys have no choice but to treat the jury trial as an artful performance, as storytelling combat in which victory most often goes to the lawyer with superior control of craft. Read about the performance styles of some of the nation's most artful criminal and civil advocates - including litigating stars from around the country, such as Roy Barrera, Penny Cooper, Jo Ann Harris, Tony Serra, and Michael Tigar - and from Philadelphia, prosecutor Roger King, defender Robert Mozenter, and the legendary Cecil B. Moore.

Choice Magazine - A. D. Sarat

Schrager (Evergreen State College) offers a wealth of original data presented in a way that allows readers to draw their own conclusions about the skill, commitment, and effectiveness of lawyers and the health of the adversary system. Highly recommended for undergraduate, graduate student, and faculty collections.

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Editorials

A. D. Sarat

Schrager (Evergreen State College) offers a wealth of original data presented in a way that allows readers to draw their own conclusions about the skill, commitment, and effectiveness of lawyers and the health of the adversary system. Highly recommended for undergraduate, graduate student, and faculty collections.
β€” Choice Magazine

Library Journal

How can you tell the difference between a snake that's been run over and a lawyer who has met the same fate? There are skid marks in front of the snake. Folklorist Schrager suggests that today's antipathy for the legal profession stems from our cherishing the ideal that the evidence will determine a person's guilt or innocence while at the same time recognizing that it is often the lawyer's performance that tips the scales of justice. Further, Schrager contends that the jury trial, a kind of ritual verbal combat, demands compelling performances from attorneys if they are to win. He draws from fieldwork in Philadelphia courtrooms, interviews with lawyers, and mock court battles at the 1986 Festival of American Folklife to create a fascinating portrait of the attorney as storyteller and performer. Recommended for popular legal collections.--Jim G. Burns, Ottumwa, IA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Book Details

Published
May 1, 2000
Publisher
Temple University Press
Pages
264
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781566397995

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