How to Try a Murder: The Handbook for Armchair Lawyers

by Michael Kurland

Two socially prominent people - a man and a woman - are found murdered. Her estranged husband is accused of the crime and indicted. But the real drama is only just beginning.... For sheer human interest, nothing else in real life equals a good murder trial. Yet how many of us follow the latest courtroom spectacle with fascination, without knowing the ins and outs of how a murder trial is conducted? In How to Try a Murder, noted crime writer Michael Kurland delves into the art and craft of a murder trial, using a fictional narrative and real-life stories to illustrate each step of the process, from the discovery of the body, to trial procedures and strategy, to the conviction and sentencing. This engrossing look at our legal system includes explanations of the various elements of a trial, including: the amount and kind of evidence needed to make an arrest, the purpose of the grand jury, defense strategy and prosecution tactics, the criteria attorneys use when selecting a jury, examination and cross-examination of witnesses, and what a jury must consider when rendering a verdict. Readers intrigued by true crime will find court documents and questionnaires from the headline-grabbing trials of O.J. Simpson, Theodore Kaczynski, Timothy McVeigh, and Erik and Lyle Menendez, as well as anecdotes from America's "trials of the century, " including those of Sacco and Vanzetti, Bruno Hauptmann, Dr. Sam Sheppard, and others.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

Paperback

Published September 15, 1997

About the author

aka Jennifer Plum

Michael Kurland has written many non-fiction books on a vast array of topics, including How to Solve a Murder, as well as many novels. Twice a finalist for the Edgar Award (once for The Infernal Device) given by the Mystery Writers of America, Kurland is perhaps best known for his novels about Professor Moriarty. He lives in Petaluma, California.

Reviews

[Kevin Duncan]

A decent primer, but nothing really new.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book takes a fictional murder case, based on many we have seen in the media, and explains the process. This book does take actual court papers to illustrate the points made in the book. All this being said, it is an elementary study of the process and most of this information is picked up watching popular television.

[Sarah D Bunting · Rating 2 out of 5]

Diverting and with dishy major-case documents, but Hauptmann-was-framed crackpottery is a bad look.