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Welcome to Famous Trials, the Web’s largest and most visited collection of original essays, trial transcripts and exhibits, maps, images, and other materials relating to the greatest trials in world history. “Famous Trials” first appeared on the Web in 1995, making this site older than about 99.97%…

Alan Dershowitz Home Alan Dershowitz Print Email Details An acclaimed Harvard Law School professor, Alan Dershowitz had an enviable life filled with book deals, speeches, and wealthy clients. He frequently appeared as a guest on network and cable television shows, often staking out controversial positions on issues relating to the criminal justice system. His appetite for publicity seemed insatiable. At the time of the murders, Dershowitz was just finishing a book called The Abuse Excuse--and Other Cop-Outs, Sob Stories, and Evasion of Responsibility. Concerned that Dershowitz's thesis may negatively impact Simpson's case, Shapiro decided to hire Dershowitz, in part to "shut him up." Rarely present in court, Dershowitz spent most of his time handling motions and other support documents. His main assignment was to prepare for possible appellate review of an adverse trial outcome. In his book, The Best Defense, Dershowitz gave a view of the approach he would later take in the Simpson case. "Once I decide to take a case," Dershowitz wrote, "I have only one agenda: I want to win. I will try, by every fair and legal means, to get my client off--without regard to the consequences." In his memoir The Best Defense, Dershowitz noted that "almost all of my clients have been guilty." Home Trial Account Other Resources The Trial of Orenthal James Simpson: An Account Chronology of the O.J. Simpson Trials O.J. Simpson Trials: Maps "IF I Did It": The Quasi-Confession of O. J. Simpson OJ's Statement to the LAPD The Trial of O. J. Simpson: Selected Documents The O. J. Simpson Trial: The Jury The O. J. Simpson Trial: Excerpts from the Trial Transcript The Trial of O. J. Simpson: The Incriminating Evidence Biographical Sketches of Key Players in the O. J. Simpson Trial The O. J. Simpson Trial: Opinion Polls The O. J. Simpson Trial: The Images Two Satirical Reviews of the O. J. Simpson Trial The O. Simpson Trial: Links and Bibliography Donate to Famous-Trials.com: With your help, Famous-Trials.com can expand and update its library of landmark cases and, at the same time, support the next generation of legal minds from UMKC School of Law. Donate Now Powered by UMKC School of Law Copyright © 1995 - 2024 Professor Douglas O. Linder To Top