Trial practice book blends basics with advanced skills

A review by Rodney R. Nordstrom of “Winning at Trial,” a 2007 release by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) by D. Shane Read.

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“Winning at Trial” achieves its goal of teaching trial skills to beginning lawyers.

As a way of illustrating the different trial phases, Shane Read draws upon the criminal trials of O.J. Simpson and Timothy McVeigh to demonstrate how trial techniques have been applied in the courtroom. The illustrations in these cases generally show examples of what not to do.

Although many other textbooks are available to the student of trial advocacy, most are either too theoretical or too elemental. Those that are too theoretical do not clearly teach trial skills and fail to recognize courtroom realities that confront lawyers.

On the other hand, books that are too elemental do not effectively teach in-depth trial strategies and advanced trial skills dealing with very difficult witnesses and situations.

This NITA book offers a good blend of both goals to the neophyte’s benefit.

Included are two DVDs that contain clips of actual trial footage from the O.J. Simpson criminal trial opening statement, direct and cross examination and closing argument. More importantly, one of the DVDs shows focus group deliberations in a civil case.

This will be an eye-opening experience for the beginner. By using these video clips in conjunction with the step-by-step guide, which contains questions for the student to ponder, the lessons of this book make it easy to learn and remember important trial techniques.

Consistent with the author’s main intent of writing a trial advocacy skills handbook for law school students, he effectively summarizes topics such as making an effective opening statement, dealing with anxiety before trial and during opening statement, and handling closing argument.

Although there is some discussion on case theme development, I’m disappointed that the book does not instruct the learner how to develop an effective case theme.

Pre-trial discovery practices - focus groups, community research, mock trials and even witness preparation - are critical in every case that goes to trial. By not capitalizing on these strategies, the author misses a golden opportunity to educate future trial lawyers about properly preparing a winning case.

With that said, the author did incorporate a prominent national jury consulting company in the preparation of Chapter 7: Exhibits and Objections. However, the figures and illustrations shown in this chapter do not do justice to state-of-the-art demonstrative evidence presentations.

For example, the book illustrations are in black and white and lack clarity. In fact, some of the exhibits and illustrations are difficult to read, and the message is not immediately recognizable, nor easily understood, as all good trial exhibits should be.

Essentially, there is nothing in this chapter that helps the aspiring trial advocate understand the significance of effective demonstrative evidence, including presentation, medium, content, color, etc. Rather, the author focuses on what an “Elmo” is and instructs the reader on how to use it.

For experienced lawyers, this book offers little value. One could skim it in 15 minutes.

For example, in Chapter 2: Jury Questionnaires and Consultants, the book devotes a total of two terse paragraphs. Similarly, the topic of Voir Dire in Criminal Cases, also Chapter 2, consists of only a few pages.

This is not enough to provide insight into real life complexities of jury selection even for novices.

Shane Read has been the lead attorney in more than 100 trials in both federal and state courts in Washington, D.C., and Texas. He has served both as a prosecutor and as a civil attorney for the U.S. attorney’s office.

He states rather largely that his goal in the book “is that readers will gain new insight to the trial process that will spark their curiosity, motivate them to think creatively and inspire them to develop a trial strategy unequally their own.”

The author has achieved his goal in attempting to combine a good hands-on trial skills handbook for use in law school trial advocacy classes. Actual clips from the Simpson trials, civil and criminal, the McVeigh trial, and the vignette of the focus group, he educates students on some real life examples to trial application.

Thomas Mauet, look out. This book will find a suitable market in the law school venue.

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Peoria attorney Rodney Nordstrom is a trial consultant who works primarily with lawyers from the Midwest. He has a J.D. and a Ph.D. in psychology with emphasis on behavior analysis, and is a contributor to the Illinois Bar Journal.

Author to speak of brave governor

Denver television reporter and Adam Schrager, author of “The Principled Politician: The Ralph Carr Story,” will speak at The John Marshall Law School at 12:15 p.m. Monday, April 21. The program is free but reservations should be made by calling (312) 987-1420.

Schrager’s book profiles former Colorado governor Ralph Carr, who bravely supported the constitutional rights of scapegoat Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor was bombed in December 1941. He feels that some of the wartime issues of that time are relevant now.

The former Evanston resident and son of John Marshall emeritus professor Leonard J. Schrager, Adam Schrager has received more than a dozen Emmy Awards and other honors. Copies of his book will be available.

The presentation is sponsored by the American Constitution Society, Chicago Bar Association, Chicago Council of Lawyers, Asian American and Filipino American Bar Associations.

Reporter signs book

New York Times labor issues reporter Steven Greenhouse will discuss his book, “The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker,” at 12 noon Thursday, May 1, in room 590 of the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

A graduate of the New York University School of Law, Greenhouse writes that corporate profits, economic growth and worker productivity have been accompanied by languishing employee pay but pressure to work harder and longer.

A reception and book-signing will follow the free lecture. For more information, contact Prof. Mary Rose Strubbe at (312) 906-5288 or mstrubbe@kentlaw.edu.

Limitation statutes guidebook published

The ISBA has published an updated “Guide to Statutes of Limitation,” a quick reference to statutes on civil actions and other provisions at various places in the Code of Civil Procedure and Illinois Compiled Statutes.

Prices of the updated guide are $35 for ISBA members and $45 for non-members. To make a credit card purchase, access http://secure.isba.org/bookstore/