Triumph of Justice: Closing the Book on the Simpson Case

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Summary: An outstanding perspective of legal management!
Review: Was drawn to this book because I had seen Daniel Petrocelli on various talk shows. His explanation and legal rationale relative to the important legal and social issues of this case caught my attention. Prior to the publication of his book, I had not read any books relative to the O J case. Petrocelli provides the reader with a behind the scene view as to the strength of his leadership and managerial skills. He was faced with a huge task of evaluating the mountains of legal testimony and evidence from the original case. Where to start? Where would the money to put on a first class case come from? Who should be involved? He takes the reader on his personal journey from the early stages as to whether he should take the case,through his approach to key individuals in his law firm, the rationale he used for delegation, as well as expressing the personal doubts he encountered both prior to and during the case. Soon the reader feels his obsession, his passion and distaste for Simpson, but is still able to become focused enough to develop a very cogent legal strategy. The book certainly is a must reading for any law student because of its awareness in how important it is to have good case preparation. Such an approach may be taught in law school, but when done in an effective way as outlined by Petrocelli, it can be a realistic learning experience. It is even recommended reading for experienced trial lawyers who have an opportunity to reinforce what it takes to develop a thoroughness of legal preparation whenever they represent a client. Petrocelli provides a high quality sense of reality for legal scholars and practioners as to what clients should expect from a legal team in a high stakes winner take all game. The purchase of this book is worth the investment.

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Summary: Everything that Dan Petrocelli Had Against O.J. Simpson
Review: _Triumph of Justice: The Final Judgment on the Simpson Saga_, by Daniel Petrocelli with Peter Knobler, is must reading for any Simpson case junkie. Even though it's over 600 pages long, I found it compelling, page-turning reading. Petrocelli, who masterminded the civil case which won a 33.5 million judgment against Simpson for liability in the deaths of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson, shows us how he presented a tighter and more focused case than the criminal prosecution, and used his lawyerly skills to preempt a defense by Simpson first by excluding blacks from the civil jury by convincing the judge that they were biased, then by making motions upheld by the trial judge which prevented the defense from arguing that anyone else could have committed the murders or framed Simpson. Petrocelli provides a wealth of circumstantial evidence against Simpson, even greater than in the criminal trial, and shows his committed advocacy to his client Fred Goldman by calling every witness who favored his side a truthful hero and every witness who favored the defense a liar and a bad guy. He also makes the leap of faith that if O.J. Simpson lied about anything in the case, it must be because he was the murderer, and Petrocelli does not examine any other reasonable theories why an innocent man might lie. But the wealth of information Petrocelli developed through investigation and depositions manages to focus the primary question which I myself raised in my book _The Frame of the Century?_ That question is: if O.J. Simpson did not commit the murders at Bundy, how could there be any possible reasonable explanation of how there could be so much credible evidence against him? Petrocelli's book may not be the final judgment on Simpson's guilt, but it does eliminate just about every other theory of the crime except the ones I examine in my own book. I endorse this book as the strongest possible case that can be made for O.J. Simpson's guilt. Once you have read it, you'll understand why gaping holes are left whic! h leave open the possibility that O.J. Simpson could only have been framed by someone with intimate access to him and Nicole, who also has a law enforcement background. That is the theory presented in _The Frame of the Century?_, which can be found on the web using any search engine.