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Case of a lifetime : a criminal defense lawyer's story

by Smith, Abbe.

Format: Print Book 2008
Availability: Available at 1 Library 1 of 1 copy

Available (1)
Location Collection Call #
CLP - Main Library Mezzanine - Non-fiction KF224.J36 S65 2008
Location  CLP - Main Library
 
Collection  Mezzanine - Non-fiction
 
Call Number  KF224.J36 S65 2008
 
 

Summary

A recent study estimates that thousands of innocent people are wrongfully imprisoned each year in the United States. Some are exonerated through DNA evidence, but many more languish in prison because their convictions were based on faulty eyewitness accounts and no DNA is available. Prominent criminal lawyer and law professor Abbe Smith weaves together real life cases to show what it is like to champion the rights of the accused. Smith describes the moral and ethical dilemmas of representingthe guilty and the weighty burden of fighting for the innocent, including the victorious story of how she helped free a woman wrongly imprisoned for nearly three decades.

For fans of Law and Order and investigative news programs like 20/20 , Case of a Lifetime is a chilling look at what really determines a person's innocence.

Published Reviews
Publisher's Weekly Review: "Smith, a law professor at Georgetown, has defended thousands of clients, but it was her first client, Patsy Kelly, who stood out most. Smith was still a law student when they met in 1980, and Kelly was serving a life sentence for driving the getaway car in a felony-murder. The conviction was based on eyewitness testimony that was riddled with inconsistencies. After a series of interviews with Kelly, Smith became convinced that she was innocent and worked doggedly for the next 25 years to free her. Kelly was released in 2005, after serving 28 years, but it was a parole and not through Smith's efforts. The book's strength is Smith's openness about her life as a criminal defense attorney and her sophisticated thinking about the moral and ethical dilemmas criminal lawyers routinely navigate, such as how to represent the guilty, how far to go to ensure their clients' freedom and the ultimate question, what is their responsibility to the truth? Aspiring lawyers and anyone interested in the criminal justice system will benefit from reading Smith's account. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Subjects Smith, Abbe.
Jarrett, Patsy Charlene Kelly, -- 1951-
Trials (Murder) -- New York (State) -- Utica.
Defense (Criminal procedure) -- New York (State) -- Utica.
Attorney and client -- United States.
Legal ethics -- United States.
Publisher New York :Palgrave Macmillan,2008
Edition 1st ed.
Language English
Description 246 pages ; 25 cm
Bibliography Notes Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-240) and index.
ISBN 0230605281
9780230605282
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