Anatomy of a Jury
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Seymour Wishman was a former defense lawyer and prosecutor, and the author of “Anatomy of a Jury,” the novel “Nothing Personal” and a memoir “Confessions of a Criminal Lawyer.” “Anatomy of a Jury” is Seymour Wishman’s third book about the criminal justice system and those who participate in it. He is a known writer and very highly respected “person of the law.” Many believe that the purpose of this book is to put you in the shoes of not only the defendant but into the shoes of the prosecutor, the judge, the defense lawyer and above all the jury. He did not want to prove a point to anyone or set out a specific message. He simply wanted to show and explain to his readers how the jury system really works. Instead of writing a book solely on the facts on how a jury system works, Wishman decides to include a story so it is easier and more interesting for his readers to follow along with.
Seymour Wishman does not point this book in the direction of any specific audience. He simply is trying to explain to those potential jurors and also the “ex-jurors” how the system of choosing a jury really works. Many do not know how the jury selection process takes place. Many people do not realize that the fate of a man or woman’s life is in the hands of these twelve complete strangers. As for myself, I think that this book was not meant for a specific audience. I feel that all people should be educated in this specific matter of the jury selection process. Eventually, each person who has read this book or anyone who will read this book will have to serve on the jury one way or another. This book taught me a lot about the jury system that I did not know of. It helps that the author has had experience in this field and knows what he is talking about. If this book was not written by someone who has had experience I feel that it would be a little bit more difficult to relate.
Seymour Wishman breaks the book down into sections. The book is broken down into four main parts. He first begins with Part One: Who Shall Judge Me? This section of the book is the beginning, where he describes the town in which the crime has taken place. Then he begins to explain and tell his audience about the crime that has taken place in this rural community. The murder of Mrs. Collins has taken place on September 5, 1982. Her son walked into the house finding a rope leading to the body of his mother. The defendant was a man by the name of Leander Rafshoon. He was an African American male who worked for the Collin’s. He was married and had two little children. He was hired by Mrs. Collin’s husband to be her bodyguard and to drive her around. He describes the scene in detail and what happens to the defendant once he is found. Once the defendant is put into jail, he is assigned a defense lawyer. Defense lawyer, Mike Bernstein, is assigned to the case by the state. Bernstein Through this section the author goes on describing each juror and gives the reader a little bit of information about their life. And the jury process continues through until the second section of the book.
The author than begins the second part of the book, Part Two: Those Chosen To Judge. This section of the book is the whole process in how a jury is selected. The author uses real life examples and gives the reader real instances that have occurred throughout America. By doing this he uses the characters in the books as examples of the jury process selection. This is where both lawyers, Bernstein and Ryan, and Judge Whitaker get to meet and ask questions to each juror. If the lawyer does not feel he or she is “intelligent” enough, fair enough, responsible enough or even if they do not like the color of their skin, they way they are dressed, they way they are sitting, they could easily be asked to leave and be dismissed from the case. Bernstein was a man of equality and understanding, he was intelligent. He didn’t judge anyone by the color of their skin or by their background. He solely judged them on whether or not he thought they would give a fair verdict to his client. Whereas Ryan was a lair, an unfair, biased man who didn’t care about anyone. He was rude and told lies as long as it meant winning. He didn’t care that this innocent man, Rafshoon, would be sent to jail for life. Both Bernstein and Ryan eliminated members of the jury, but Ryan made those decisions based on race alone. But still Ryan knew his reasons and so did Bernstein and he knew just as well as Ryan that he was making unfair eliminations. The lawyers do not need a reason to eliminate a juror They can simply just ask them to leave. This chapter is mainly devoted to the jury selection process and how it is taken care of.
The third part of the book, Part Three: The Trial, simply is the trial taking place. Wishman starts off by giving clear descriptions of the jury and the people in the stands. He describes the court room in great detail