Crimes Of The Century: From Leopold and Loeb to O.J. Simpson

by Gilbert Geis, Leigh B. Bienen

Overview

In compelling narrative, the authors probe the sensational cases of Nathan F. Leopold, Jr., and Richard A. Loeb, the Scottsboro "boys," Bruno Richard Hauptmann, Alger Hiss, and O.J. Simpson, highlighting significant lessons about criminal behavior and the administration of criminal justice. Each case study details the crime, the police investigation, and the court proceedings, profiles the major players, and examines the outcome and aftermath of the trial. The authors untangle the perplexities surrounding the cases and illuminate the many mysteries that remain unsolved today. These celebrated trials reveal issues of overzealous prosecution, sloppy police work, judicial bias, race, class, and ethnic struggles, and the role of wealth in securing a competent defense. They also show how the temper of the times and frenzied media coverage heightened the intensity of drama in the cases.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781555538682
Publisher:	Northeastern University Press
Publication date:	04/01/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Gilbert Geis is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, at the University of California, Irvine. He is a former President of the American Society of Criminology and recipient of its Edwin H. Sutherland Award for outstanding research. He is the co-author of A Trial of Witches: A Seventeenth-Century Witchcraft Prosecution. Leigh B. Bienen is a Senior Lecturer at the Northwestern University School of Law. A former public defender, she has published numerous articles on homicide, the death penalty, juries, and sex offenses. She is the co-author of Jurors and Rape.

Table of Contents

	Illustrations	ix
1	Introduction	3
2	Leopold and Loeb (1924) and the Cause of Crime	13
3	Scottsboro (1931) and Racial Injustice	49
4	Bruno Richard Hauptmann (1932), Public Outrage, and Criminal Justice	89
5	Alger Hiss (1948), the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the Courts	127
6	O. J. Simpson (1994): Can the Rich Buy Reasonable Doubt?	169
7	Conclusion	205
	Index	217
	Acknowledgments	229

Editorial Reviews

"The authors offer a fair analysis of celebrated cases that address the need to see that true justice is done."—Kirkus Reviews


"What makes the book so enjoyable and worthwhile-beyond the riveting, sometimes gory details of the misdeeds it chronicles-is its sophisticated exploration of the myriad social and intellectual currents that combine to create a crime of the century."—Jonathan S. Shapiro, American Lawyer


"A gripping book."—Neil Steinberg, Chicago Sun-Times


"For legal scholars as well as social historians, this work is a valuable tool, and laymen should find it an enjoyable read."—Booklist

From the Publisher

...[P]rovides a good, quick tour through some of the most fascinating American triails of the past 75 years.

Noted criminologist Geis and law school lecturer Bienen present vivid accounts of five of the most famous crimes and trials of the 20th century. The cases of Leopold and Loeb, the Scottsboro boys, the Lindbergh kidnapping, Alger Hiss, and O.J. Simpson certainly merit inclusion, though the Sacco-Vanzetti case is inexplicably missing. Though each case is covered from crime through punishment (or acquittal) in fewer than 50 pages, the depth of historical detail and legal analysis is remarkable. The authors are particularly adept at placing these crimes within both their immediate historical settings and the larger societal issues (e.g., racism, Cold War anxiety, pre-World War II isolationism) that run below the surface. They likewise provide considerable insight into the effects of highly publicized trials on the popular perception of the administration of justice. After the discussion of each trial, the authors include an extensive and informative guide to books for further reading. Highly recommended for all libraries.--Patrick Petit, Catholic Univ. Law Lib., Washington, DC

Library Journal

A look at five famous trials that transfixed a nation. Geis, a criminologist, and Bienen, who teaches at Northwestern School of Law, contend that the five cases they discussnLeopold and Loeb, the Scottsboro boys,the Lindbergh baby, Alger Hiss, and O.J. Simpsonn have left a major imprint on our collective consciousness because they represent a nmysterynnsuch as he ambiguity of rebuttable evidence or a defendantns unwavering claims to innocence, or, in the case of Alger Hiss, the impeaccable credentials the accused and the disreputableness of his accuser. Successful trials are overly dependent on skilled, high-priced lawyersnand on the passions of the times. They also argue that these cases highlight nthe tensions, the inadequacies, and the underlying processesn of our justice system. The O.J. Simpson case, they argue, underscores the sloppiness with which judges give warrants to the policena sloppiness that passes unremarked on until a high-priced legal team is able to publicize it. The authors offer a fair analysis of celebrated cases that address the need to see that true justice is done.s

Kirkus Reviews