Michael Grossberg's Telling Tale: The Social Drama of an Antebellum Custody Case

Abstract

That point made, I can make the next obligatory move: mention of the 0. J. Simpson trials. The fact that they need to be mentioned-Grossberg succumbs as well-helps to confirm one of Grossberg's largest claims. As the title indicates, the book is about "legal experience." People experience the law, Grossberg argues, as much indirectly as directly; highly publicized trials are an important part of their indirect legal experience. If, on the one hand, the popularization of a trial leads to distortions, on the other, it serves to educate the public about the law. Think, for instance, of how many people were first made aware of various rules of evidence and the differences between civil and criminal proceedings because of the Simpson trials.