I have admired Vincent Bugliosi ever since reading Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, describing his prosecution of Charles Manson. Although other some prosecutors carped at the time that he took credit for the accomplishments of others, claims which I have no way of assessing, I thought the book admirably described a model of how a prosecutor ought to prepare for a case. I highly recommend it to law students interested in practicing criminal law. Plus, it’s a great read.
I am also a big fan of Bugliosi’s book Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O.J. Simpson Got Away With Murder, describing the catastrophic failure of the prosecutors in the O.J. Simpson case to competently do their job. It fit perfectly with my reaction to watching on TV their pathetic attempts at presenting evidence and argument, but provided much unreported background information on just how bad they were. No one should blame the jury about the outcome of that case without first reading this book. [Aside: on Sunday night I saw Norm McDonald at the Improv. MacDonald is memorable for his line as anchor for Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update. With a picture of a smiling OJ over his shoulder, McDonald announced: “Well, it’s official: Murder is now legal in the State of California.”]
Now Bugliosi has a massive new book debunking conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination. I am not sure when I will have the chance to read it, but found this interview with him discussing the assassination to be most interestimng.