Legal Drama
The Ox-Bow Incident published in 1940 was the study of the lynching of three innocent men in a western town. The author’s view of mob justice is generally now viewed as being a work of genius.
Native Son
Native Son by Richard Wright was also published in 1940. The main character in this novel is Bigger Thomas, a young Chicago black man whose discomfort with white people drives him into increasingly deeper trouble. He is eventually condemned to death for two murders. The novel is based on the case of Robert Nixon, who was executed for murder in 1938.
Legal Drama-Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was published in 1850. Although technically not a legal book, it involved the honor of a fallen woman by the name of Hester Prynne. She had an affair with the pastor of her puritan church. Hester survived the indignity of wearing the scarlet A. She insisted on thereafter making substantial contributions to her community.
Billy Budd
Billy Budd by Herman Melville was published in 1924. Budd was a model sailor on a British warship. He was falsely accused by the ship’s second-in-command of mutiny. Budd struck the accuser with such force as to kill him. Thereafter he was tried for murder by the Captain and found guilty and hung. The book deals with the rule of law over the sense of justice.
Les Miserables and Trial
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is a tale of justice about a peasant condemned to prison for stealing a loaf of bread.
The Trial by Franz Kafka written in 1925 is a tale of a trial where the accuser and the accusations are both unspecified. As such there can be no justice.
Bleak
Bleak House by Charles Dickens published in 1852 involves a murder where Lady Dedlock is suspected. In the novel Dickens gives an ongoing account of another case involving estate issues that drags on from generation to generation until the money runs out.
Legal Drama-Crime and Mockingbird
In Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky deals with a man who has murdered an elderly pawnbroker. This was part of a premeditated murder-robbery. He also kills the pawnbroker’s sister. The accused subsequently finds himself unable to bear the psychological burden of his guilt.
The ultimate classic is of course To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee published in 1960. The lawyer, Atticus Finch, loses his biggest case but cites the memorable line, “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”
Legal Drama of Note
Trials
One of the early ones was “THE MERCHANT OF VENICE”. Portia dressed as a doctor of laws attempts to prevent Shylock from getting his “pound of flesh” from her husband’s friend Antonio. Portia pleaded that the “quality of mercy is not strain’d”. Also she argued that Shylock could have his pound of flesh but if any harm came to Antonio because of Shylock’s extraction of his pound of flesh then Shylock stood to forfeit his entire fortune and perhaps even his life.
One of the more famous plays is “TWELVE ANGRY MEN”. It is a series of interesting observations on the role of race and class in the judicial system. It touches on the role of circumstantial evidence. In addition it addresses the issue of how a person’s history determines the quality of justice.
Evolution
In “INHERIT THE WIND” a Tennessee teacher was put on trial for teaching evolution. The case was made famous by H.L. Mencken who reported on the confrontation between Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. Clarence Darrow undertook the defense of the teacher who was discussing evolution. Also they both acquired national and international fame in this Scopes trial.
Momentous Trials
In “JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG” a well thought of state judge from the United States was called upon to preside over a trial of Ernst Janning. Janning was German judge who had gone from being a principled jurist to a Nazi hack.
In “ANATOMY OF A MURDER” the author recounts his defense of a young murder suspect accused of killing a man who had raped his wife.
The criminal trial of Adolf Eichmann was the basis for the play known as “THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH”. Here a wealthy New York developer was accused of being an infamous Nazi war criminal. As the play develops, it becomes questionable as to whether or not the accused is in fact actually a survivor from one of the camps.
Legal Drama-Seasons and Typhoons
Sir Thomas More, Henry VIII’s friend and chancellor became “A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS”. He refused to sign an oath denying the Catholic Church when Henry sought to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Henry wanted to marry Anne Boleyn. More was executed for his act of faith.
The CAINE MUTINY portrayed the removal of Commander Queeg from the USS Caine during a typhoon.
Also for more information about legal drama see the pages on Wikipedia.
Call, or contact us for a free consult. For more information on the law see Brien Roche’s book Law 101 and for information on legal history see the pages on on that topic.
