E-Book of the Week - Anatomy of a Trial : Public Loss, Lessons Learned from The People vs. O.J. Simpson

Hayslett, Jerrianne.  Anatomy of a Trial : Public Loss, Lessons Learned from The People vs. O.J. Simpson.

Columbia : University of Missouri Press, 2008.



The recent trial and acquittal of Casey Anthony in the death of her two-year-old daughter has awakened memories of and evoked comparisons with the 1994-95 murder trial of O.J. Simpson. In both cases media and public attention were riveted upon the proceedings, and in both cases there was a widely-held perception that justice was not done in the end. In this insider account of the Simpson trial, Hayslett, the Los Angeles court’s information officer and media liaison, provides a unique perspective on what she terms “a very public yet poorly understood trial.” Hayslett defends the performance of the much-maligned Judge Lance Ito and discusses how this trial led to the tightening of media access to judicial proceedings. It is worthy of note that one factor that allowed the Anthony trial to go viral is that Florida law allows cameras in courtroom, and hence enabled almost continuous live coverage of the proceedings.

Preview by Jack Ray.  Click here to read the book.