Moment of Madness: The People vs. Jack Ruby (Used Hardcover) - Elmer Gertz

Preface by Jon R. Waltz (Northwestern U. law professor). Gertz (9/1906-4/2000) was a writer, law professor & civil rights activist. During his career he won some high-profile cases, most notably the obscenity trial of Henry Miller's novel Tropic of Cancer, a book published in France but banned in the USA because of its "candid sexuality" in describing the author's life in Paris. He's best remembered in the legal world, however, for a case in which he wasn't an advocate but a plaintiff: Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., a libel action brought against the John Birch Society in '69. A jury found in favor of Gertz & awarded compensatory damages of $100k & punitive damages of $300k. The award was upheld on appeal. Waltz in '69 advised lawyers of the Chicago 7, radicals who were accused of conspiring to incite a riot at the '68 Democratic Nat'l Convention. The role earned him a secret security file with the military. Since Gertz represented Ruby at the appeal level, his account of the appeal is revealing. This portion of the book reveals something of Elmer Gertz. As a civil libertarian, Gertz describes with relish the manner in which the conviction was overturned. He emulated Clarence Darrow when he argued against the death sentence handed down to Jack Ruby for killing Lee Harvey Oswald. It was overturned, & Ruby, who was terminally ill, served the remaining few years of his life in prison.

Condition: Hardcover is in good condition with some wear to the original dust jacket, and writing on inside of front cover.