Content area
Full Text
In the Clutches of the Law: Clarence Darrow's Letters. Ed. by Randall Tietjen. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013. Pp. xxxvi, 550, index. Cloth $100.00.)
Clarence Darrow is arguably the most famous attorney in American history. His passionate argument in opposition to the death penalty when defending wealthy Chicagoans Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, his involvement in the theatrical Scopes Monkey trial, and his murder defense of African American doctor Ossian Sweet in Detroit have elevated his status to an American icon. Darrow's reputation comes from his legal work solely; he did not use his law practice as a stepping stone to higher political or judicial ambitions. Darrow classified himself as a general practice attorney who had a substantial criminal caseload. Unlike many prominent lawyers, however, Darrow did not view the profession of law as noble, but believed that lawyers should work to benefit "poor and unfortunate clients" (p. 465).
Born in Ohio in 1857, Clarence Darrow became licensed to practice there before moving to Chicago in 1887. He worked in various legal positions for the city of Chicago and the Chicago & North Western Railroad Company before becoming involved with noted Socialist Eugene V. Debs. Darrow began to take a number...