In "The Death of the American Trial", distinguished legal scholar Robert P. Burns makes an impassioned case for reversing the rapid decline of the trial before we lose one of our public culture's greatest achievements. As a practice that is adapted for modern times yet rooted in ancient wisdom, the trial is uniquely suited to balance the tensions – between idealism and realism, experts and citizens, contextual judgment and reliance on rules – that define American culture. Arguing that many observers make a grave mistake by taking a complacent or even positive view of the trial's demise, Burns concludes by laying out the catastrophic consequences of losing an institution that so perfectly embodies democratic governance.
About the Author
Robert P. Burns is professor at the Northwestern University School of Law. He is the author of "The Death of the American Trial".
Reviews
Choice Magazine: Choice Outstanding Academic Title Awards, 2009
"In impassioned prose, Burns argues that the decline of civil and criminal jury trials in the United States is disasterous. He lauds jury trials as public dramas that show the truth. After explaining how trials work, from opening statement to closing argument, the author traces the jury trial's current form to nineteenth-century pracitces in England, made more democratice in America, and also discusses its much earlier medieval origins. Then he describes the delcine of the trial according to various researchers. To his credit, Burns offers suggestions for revitalizing the trial and cites numerous dramatic trials that showcased public problems, e. g. those involving labor organizer Joe Hill and radical Angela Davis. Without trials, he submits, elites would decide justice and the judicial branch would decline... Burns's well-written and well-researched book is for all interested readers" – Library Journal
"Written by one of America's leading analysts of the legal trial, this book presents an impassioned and persuasive argument about its cultural, political, and legal significance. 'The Death of the American Trial' offers an account of what would be lost if trials were to vanish. Robert Burns is hardly neutral in his reaction to this prospect. After reading his lucid and engaging prose, it is hard to imagine that anyone could remain neutral. His scholarship is as impeccable as his argument is compelling. Bravo!" – Austin Sarat, Amherst College, author of "When the State Kills: Capital Punishment and the American Condition"
"Burns has long been among the best and most perceptive observers and theorists of the American jury. In 'The Death of the American Trial', he offers a perceptive and learned synthesis of historical, empirical, and political thinking about the jury in service of a trenchant and nuanced account of the jury's multiple meanings and social importance. In light of the increasing diminution of traditional trials, it serves as a jeremiad; time will tell whether it is also an elegy for the jury" – Darryl Brown, University of Virginia School of Law, co-author of "Adjudication of Criminal Justice"
"An excellent and accessible book by a distinguished lawyer and scholar, 'The Death of the American Trial' makes a persuasive plea on behalf of the fading American trial, which is so much a part of our imagined world that we can hardly conceive of its disappearance. Robert Burns's statement of what we stand to lose if this institution disappears is powerful and moving. This book should start the sort of conversation about the trial that ought to take place among lawyers and any others concerned about the state of justice in our culture" – James Boyd White, University of Michigan Law School, author of "Living Speech: Resisting the Empire of Force"
"Taking a brilliant new approach to the 'vanishing trial', Robert Burns makes vividly clear the great damage this inexorable trend will have on our judicial system. With a sweeping view that draws on linguistics, philosophy, literature, sociology, drama, and legal studies, Burns shows how trials use narrative, presented in a highly stylized and focused way, in the search for truth and justice. The death of the trial will mean the loss of a public space where citizens can tell their narratives face-to-face and be heard by their fellow citizens. This eloquent book offers academics and practitioners new perspectives on the extraordinary importance of the trial process and the great losses posed by its demise" – Nancy Marder, Chicago-Kent College of Law, author of "The Jury Process"
"A stimulating, impassioned, well-argued defense of the continued importance of the trial" – Choice
