One of America's leading appeal lawyers, Alan Dershowitz was the man chosen to prepare the appeal should O.J. Simpson have been convicted. Now Professor Dershowitz uses this case to examine the larger issues and to identify the social forces - media, money, gender, and race - that shape the criminal-justice system in America today. How could one of the longest trials in the history of America's judicial system produce a verdict after only hours of jury deliberation? Was this really a case of circumstantial evidence? The crucial questions raised by the O.J. Simpson case, and Professor Dershowitz's answers, invite a reassessment not only of the case itself, but also of the strengths - and weaknesses - of the legal system in America today.