Rodney King, O.J. Simpson, Louise Woodward. The names represent not just people but criminal trials that critics claim spotlight the deficiencies of the American system of justice.
During the trials, lawyers and legal experts assured Americans that these cases were not typical and that the U.S. trial system remains the best in the world. But according to CU-Boulder law professor and former federal prosecutor William T. Pizzi, these cases are typical and our legal system is not the best.
"As soon as the Simpson case was over," said Pizzi, "I think everyone realized that the system was way too complicated, that the structure had some major weaknesses."
Pizzi exposes those weaknesses in his new book, "Trials Without Truth."
According to Pizzi the American legal system has a number of faults. For example:
o It聮s too adversarial, pitting lawyer against lawyer with an emphasis on winning instead of working to uncover the truth.
"I am very worried that the tendency toward adversarial excess has an influence on defense attorneys and prosecutors and puts too much control in the lawyers and they feel that it聮s 聭their trial聮 and it聮s 聭my conviction聮 or 聭my acquittal聮." Said Pizzi, "We have to place a higher priority on truth."
o The legal system is paralyzed with procedure, which allows crafty lawyers to dominate trials. "This is a system that is not good for the vast majority of the defendants, and it聮s not good for the vast majority of victims," said Pizzi. "I think it benefits those who are very sophisticated or those who have very sophisticated lawyers and those who are wealthy."
In "Trials Without Truth" Pizzi compares and contrasts the American system with a number of other countries. He is critical of the Supreme Court, trial judges and the "unfairness" of the plea bargain system.
But, while criticizing the American legal system, Pizzi offers solutions to solve the problems, as well.
Pizzi teaches criminal law and procedure at the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Law, whose faculty were ranked 15th in the nation in academic and professional quality by Professor Brian Leiter's Educational Quality Rankings.
Leiter is a faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin.