SIDEBAR Summer/Fall 2020 - 8

MONTGOMERYBAR.ORG

BOOK REVIEW:

The Last Trial
by Scott Turow
Review By Jules Mermelstein, Esq., author of
Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue

S

cott Turow, as fans of legal thrillers know, became the
father of the modern legal thriller with the publication of
Presumed Innocent in 1987. The premise of The Last Trial
is that this will be the last trial for the defense attorney, Sandy
Stern, introduced in Presumed Innocent.
Some readers might need some time to adjust at the
beginning of this novel. Mr. Turow begins with a scene close to
the end of the trial, then jumps back to the opening statement
by the defense, and then refers back to the opening statement by
the prosecution. For those who need that time, it will be time
well-rewarded.
Although the plot revolves around the murder, fraud, and
insider trading trial of a Nobel Prize winning doctor, what is
most memorable in the book are the characters who readers get
to know so well. More about them near the end of this review.
As Sandy Stern discovers more and more information, the
reader's imagination takes guesses as to who did what, as does
Stern himself. In fact, readers do not find out what, if anything,
the doctor is guilty of until well past the verdict. Although Stern
makes a point in the trial about sometimes needing to accept
that we will never know everything, readers need not worry. All
questions remaining are answered before the novel ends.
Trial lawyers may be tempted to crib some of Stern's closing
argument. Indeed, it contains more praise for the jury system
than this reviewer has seen elsewhere. In addition to that, there
are many observations throughout the book readers might want
to remember to use at appropriate times.
When musing about trying cases: "Winning is like sex - the
spirit inevitably craves the next occasion."
Discussing guilty criminal defendants: "In the end, all
guilty clients have one thing in common: At the moment of
completing the crime, each was convinced against all reason they
would not get caught."

8 SIDEBAR

When discussing the government of the United States,
keeping in mind this book was published this year: "Democracy
and the rule of law are much more fragile than most Americans
realize."
On the philosophical basis of both law and economics: "The
law is erected on many fictions and perhaps the falsest one of all
is that humans, in the end, are rational. Without doubt, our life
- so far as we can tell - is one of cause and effect. That is what
science depends on. But our most intimate decisions are rarely
based on the kinds of calculations of pluses and minuses Jeremy
Bentham, or the free-market economists for that matter, have
wanted to believe in. We are fundamentally emotional creatures.
In the most consequential matters, we answer faithfully to the
heart's cry, not the law's."
Obviously there is much that cannot be divulged about the
trial without giving away plot points. However, the beginning of
the cross-examination of the pathologist is so brilliant, and does
not give away plot points, that it has to be shared here:
"Now you are not trained as an allergist, Dr. Rogers, are
you?"
"No."
"Well, if any of the next questions are beyond your
competence, Dr. Rogers, please say so."
The cast of characters Mr. Turow allows us to know so
well, include Stern's daughter, who he is partners with, Stern's
quirky but sharp granddaughter, the dedicated US Attorney,
the Assistant US Attorney who always thinks he's the smartest
person in the room, a smart and fair judge, a reporter struggling
to keep sources secret, a federal bureaucrat, the many women in
the defendant's life, and descriptions of Stern's two wives who
both left him a widower.
If you enjoy legal thrillers, you will love this latest book by
the master, Scott Turow.
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SIDEBAR Summer/Fall 2020

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