With Justice for None: Destroying an American Myth

Crown Publishing Group, 1989. Hard cover. Very Good/Very Good. Brief owner inscription. A scathing indictment of how law is taught, practiced, and administered in this country . . . One of the best books ever written on the law. Renowned trial lawyer Gerry Spence takes an in-depth look at the American justice system and reveals a terrible truth: If you don't have power or money, then you likely won't receive justice either. The wealthy buy their way out of trouble, while the poor are punished. In an effort to combat this corruption, the author devises a number of reforms, tackling issues in every area of the system from law school to the courtroom. Passionately eloquent and innovative, trial attorney Spence here argues the evils of the justice system itself and its abuse by monied interests such as corporations, the most cruel, calculating, and accomplished criminals of all time. Spence gained attention for the Karen Silkwood case. Karen Silkwood was a chemical technician at the Kerr-McGee plutonium-production plant, where she became an activist and vocal critic of plant safety, also known as a whistleblower. On November 13, 1974, Silkwood died in a one-car crash under suspicious circumstances after reportedly gathering evidence for her union. Spence represented Silkwood's father and children, who charged that Kerr-McGee was responsible for exposing Silkwood to dangerous levels of radiation. Spence served as legal consultant for NBC television covering the O. J. Simpson trial.