An acclaimed trial attorney presents a mock murder case to explore the jury system in this &“compelling . . . intelligent . . . provocative&” work (The New York Times Book Review). Creating a composite legal case based on real-life criminal investigations and trials, Seymour Wishman&’s Anatomy of a Jury carries us from crime scene to courthouse to jury room, providing a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look into the nation&’s criminal justice system. In autumn 1982, in the affluent New Jersey community of Glen Ridge, a woman is found brutally murdered in her home. The victim&’s distraught husband points police to a likely perpetrator: an African American handyman with a criminal record. A search of the suspect&’s home reveals nothing, but still the man is indicted for the crime. His ultimate fate is to be determined by &“a jury of his peers&”—twelve strangers with no special legal skills or training and a fervent desire to do what is right. As dramatic and riveting as it is educational, Wishman&’s staging and analysis of a criminal trial is a &“rousing endorsement of the jury and a superb description of how the system really operates&” (St. Louis Dispatch).
