American State Trials Volume X 1918 by John D. Lawson

American State Trials Volume X 1918 by John D. Lawson

Author: John D. Lawson

Year: 1918

American State Trials, Volume X (1918), edited by John D. Lawson, LL.D., is part of a seventeen-volume series that collected the most important criminal trials in United States history. Published in St. Louis by F.H. Thomas Law Book Company, the series attempted to document American legal history from the nation's founding through the early 1900s. The Editor John D. Lawson (1852-1921) edited this series with the stated goal of making trial records accessible to lawyers, historians, and researchers. He believed these trials revealed important details about American life, customs, and society that had been buried in court records. The series was meant to serve as both a legal reference and a historical resource. What's in Volume X Volume X devotes substantial space to the Leo M. Frank case, starting on page 182. Before presenting the trial testimony from July 28 to August 26, 1913, Lawson includes his own analysis of the case. This is where his bias becomes obvious. Lawson takes a clear pro-Leo Frank position that contradicts every court that reviewed the case. Both state and federal courts upheld Frank's conviction, but Lawson's commentary argues against those legal decisions. His i