A Trial by Jury

By: D. Graham Burnett

Narrated by: D. Graham Burnett

Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Jury duty happens to everyone. When the call came to Graham Burnett, a young historian, he had a shock in store. A Trial by Jury is his startling account of how performing this familiar civic duty challenged him in ways he never thought possible and turned into one of the most consuming experiences of his life.

Burnett begins with the story of the trial: a body with multiple stab wounds found in a New York apartment, intimations of cross-dressing, male prostitution, mistaken identity. And then, the unexpected drama: Burnett finds himself appointed the foreman, with the responsibility of leading the increasingly frenetic deliberations within the black box of the jury room. Soon he is sequestered—which is to say marooned—with eleven others, a group of people who view their task, and often one another, with palpable distaste. Among his colleagues: a vacuum-cleaner repairman cum urban missionary, a young actress, and a man apparently floundering in a borderland between real life and daytime television. As Burnett steers the contentious politics of their temporary no-exit society toward the verdict, he undergoes an unexpected awakening. Having been plucked from his cozy nest in the world of books and ideas and then plunged into the netherworld of lurid crime, he learns the limits of what intellect alone can accomplish in the real world. Above all, Burnett discovers firsthand the terrifying ultimate power of the state and the agonies of being asked to do justice within the rigid dictates of the law.

Part true crime, part political treatise, part contemplation of right, wrong, and the power of words, A Trial by Jury is a mesmerizing narrative of one man’s encounter with crime and punishment, American style. It profoundly affects one’s sense of the privileges—and the perils—of citizenship.

©2001 D. Graham Burnett (P)2001 Random House Inc., Random House AudioBooks, a Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"The heavy machine is what Burnett calls the criminal justice system; his close encounter with its well-greased wheels and levers is the subject of his immensely readable new book."--Jabari Asim, Washington Post

"By turns humorous and dramatic, "A Trial by Jury" speeds along; it can be devoured in a single sitting. Burnett is a graceful, economical writer, with a sharp eye for detail and a nuanced feel for character. He never loses his sense of the ridiculous . . . An irresistible book."--Barry Gewen, The New York Times Book Review

"The author, a historian of science, also proves himself an excellent student of human nature in this first-person account of serving as the jury foreman in a New York City murder trial. Though the entire case, from opening gavel to final decision, takes only a few weeks, Burnett manages to paint vivid portraits of his fellow-jurors and examine the knottier issues of class, race, and gender that complicate the justice system's search for objective truth. Until now, the standard-bearer for jury-room dynamics has been "Twelve Angry Men"; Burnett's narrative, while significantly more understated, is no less illuminating."--The New Yorker

Didn’t see that coming…

Was assigned this book for a legal studies class. Kind of expected it to be a bit boring, but I actually enjoyed it. It’s a little slow on the uptake and there are some details that were unnecessary but I really like the philosophical aspects of the ending. Overall, it was a good read and really short I was able to finish it in one sitting just in time for finals.

defense lawyer must read

confirmed all my suspicions about what really happens in that room...tremendously helpful tool. thank you

Every lawyer and attorney should read this

the incredible difficulties of being a juror and having to follow strict rules is described so succinct and with great detail and offers an alternative that I think would make jury duty more palatable

Been there

A very interesting account of a juror's experience. His exasperating ordeal during juror deliberations closely parallels my own experience as a juror on two criminal trials. Getting twelve people to agree on anything is well nigh impossible, yet this is essential to our justice system. This window into how difficult it can be to be a responsible juror is thought provoking and very engaging.

Real court room drama..

Burnett did a great job of conveying what it’s like to sit on a jury. At times I felt like I was sitting in the jury room experiencing the frustration at some of the other jurors during deliberations. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and it held my interest from the start to the very end. Great read.

thoughtful account

Trial By Jury is a book that entertains and educates. Burnett is modest about his role as the jury foreman in a murder trial and the deep sense of responsibility he brought to the role. This should be required reading for students at the high school or college level. It is a frightening prospect of how easily the work of a jury can go awry were it not for the willingness of a few good souls willing and able to take the work seriously. Four stars only because I struggled to grasp the facts of the crime itself, but that may well be part of the message and no fault of anyone's. A quibble. This is an important work as well as fascinating. I could only imagine the disintegration that might've happened, had the jury not been able to reach a verdict after four days. Like every good and important work, this account raises more questions than it settles.

sloooooooooooow

The author was very detailed in the jury decision making process. It seemed to drag a great deal to the point you could fast forward through a great deal and the jury would be at the same place. Someone unfamiliar with the judicial system may enjoy this more than a person who is well versed in trials.

Gripping and Thought-Provoking!

I don’t think I’ve ever thought to put the adjectives “gripping,” “earnest,” and “erudite” together in describing a text, but that is manifestly what this (audio)book was for me: a fascinating behind-the-scenes legal drama and a searching inquiry into the meaning of the law, of justice, and of truth on earth and in the heavens above.

Burnett’s richly described account opens the closed doors of the jury room to present a facet of society that is surprisingly inaccessible and opaque, given its obvious importance.

The narrator is an academic used to living the life of the mind, professionally obliged to raise hard questions, and not to answer them. But as the foreman of a jury in a gruesome murder trial, he finds himself embroiled in a discussion in which answers cannot be endlessly deferred; a place where decisions of immense weight must be made once and for all.

Burnett’s detailed account of the trial is accompanied by an internal monologue in which we hear him grappling with abstractions—capital “R” Reason, the state, the law, the judicial system, the way we place justice in the hands of ordinary citizens—that take on strange and serious new meanings when instantiated in the high-stakes world of a murder trial.

The whole thing combines the suspense of a law procedural with the provocations of a deep and probing philosophical inquiry. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.

And a final note: the performance was well-paced and entertaining. All around excellent.

is it over yet?

"A Trial by Jury" is more like a trial of patients. I did not enjoy and to be quite honest I was often annoyed with this book. I felt that author spent much of his time talking at the listener instead of to the listener. For the most part I was bored with the reader and the read. I just couldn't wait for it to end