Moment of Madness:; The People vs. Jack Ruby
Chicago, IL: Follett Publishing Company, 1968. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Format is approximately 6.25 inches and 9.25 inches. xxiii, [1]. 564, [4] pages. End Note. Notes. Index. DJ, in a plastic sleeve, has wear, tears, soiling and chips. Preface by Jon R. Waltz (Professor of Law at Northwestern University). Elmer Gertz (September 14, 1906 – April 27, 2000) was an American lawyer, writer, law professor, and civil rights activist. During his lengthy legal career he won some high-profile cases, most notably the obscenity trial of Henry Miller's novel Tropic of Cancer, a book published in France but banned in the United States because of its "candid sexuality" in describing the author's life in Paris. He is best remembered in the legal world, however, for a case in which he was not an advocate but a plaintiff: Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., a libel action he brought against the John Birch Society in 1969. He prevailed, The jury found in favor of Gertz and awarded him compensatory damages of $100,000 and punitive damages of $300,000. The award was upheld on appeal. Professor Jon R. Waltz in 1969 advised lawyers of the Chicago 7, radicals who were accused of conspiring to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The role earned him a secret security file with the military and exemplified his commitment to just causes. Since Elmer Gertz represented Ruby at the appeal level, his account of the appeal is revealing. It is in this portion of the book that something of the man, Elmer Gertz, is revealed. As a civil libertarian, Gertz describes with apparent relish the manner in which the conviction was overturned. Gertz emulated his legal inspiration, Clarence Darrow, when he argued against the death sentence handed down to Jack Ruby for killing Lee Harvey Oswald. It was overturned, and Ruby, who was terminally ill, served the remaining few years of his life in prison. Condition: Good / Fair.
Keywords: JFK Assassination, John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, FBI, Melvin Belli, Trials, Warren Commission, Jack Ruby, Conspiracy, William Alexander, Legal Appeal, Phil Burleson, Joseph Brown, Sam Clinton, Sol Dann, Mark Lane, Louis Holland, William Kunstle
[Book #23729]
Price: $50.00