Mark Geragos and Pat Harris have practiced criminal defense for decades, representing several high-profile defendants--including Michael Jackson and Scott Peterson--as well as hundreds of others. In Mistrial, the pair combine their experience with attitude, revealing the flaws in a heavily pro-prosecution system in the way only counsel for the defense can. They begin with the unprecedented media coverage that surrounded the O.J. Simpson trial and continued after its verdict. Thanks to Court TV and many legal analysts who filled airtime on other news networks, Americans tend to think they know more about the courts than ever before--but the version of courtroom events that plays well on cable is rarely the one that best shows how a criminal trial actually works, much less the one that protects the Constitutional rights of criminal defendants.
Rather than continuing to insist on the myth of an impartial justice system, Mistrial examines how news reports sway public opinion, making a disinterested jury increasingly difficult to convene, and how police and prosecutors are often willing to lie for their version of the "truth," even when it's not supported by the facts. Geragos and Harris also discuss how some defense attorneys, too afraid to rock the local boat, fail to stand up for their clients. Part exposé, part gossip column, Mistrial is a fascinating and entertaining look at how our criminal justice system fails us--and how it succeeds. --Dani Alexis Ryskamp, blogger at The Book Cricket