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Anatomy of a Murder: "The Lecture"

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Murder Ch 5, 37–38 (1958): [To the client]“… [T]here are only about three basic defenses: one, that it didn’t happen but was instead a suicide or accident or what not; two, that whether it happened or not you didn’t do it, such as alibi, mistaken identity and so forth; and three, that even if it happened and you did it, your action was legally justified or excusable.” I paused to see how my student was doing. The Lieutenant grew thoughtful. “Where do I fit in that rosy picture?” he responded nicely. “I can tell you better where you don’t fit,” I went on. “Since a whole barroom full of people saw you shoot down Barney Quill in apparent cold blood, you scarcely fit in the first two classes of defenses...continue to full post

Full post as published by Law Of Criminal Defense on January 29, 2010 (boomark / email).