“ToughCasesstandsoutasagenuinerevelation....Ourmostdistinguishedjudgesshouldfollowtheleadofthisgroundbreakingvolume.“--JustinDriver,TheWashingtonPostArareandilluminatingviewofhowjudgesdecidedramaticlegalcases--LawandOrderfrombehindthebench--includingtheEli獺nGonz獺lez,TerriSchiavo,andScooterLibbycasesProsecutorsanddefenseattorneyshaveiteasy--alltheyhavetodoistopresenttheevidenceandmakearguments.It’sthejudgeswhohavetheheavylift:theyaretheoneswhohavetomaketheultimatedecisions,manyofwhichhaveprofoundconsequencesonthelivesofthepeoplestandinginfrontofthem.InToughCases,judgesfromdifferentkindsofcourtsindifferentpartsofthecountrywriteaboutthecasethatprovedmostdifficultforthemtodecide.Someofthesecasesreceivedinternationalattention:theEli獺nGonz獺lezcaseinwhichJudgeJenniferBaileyhadtodecidewhethertoreturnaseven-year-oldboytohisfatherinCubaafterhismotherdrownedtryingtobringthechildtotheUnitedStates,ortheTerriSchiavocaseinwhichJudgeGeorgeGreerhadtodecidewhethertowithdrawlifesupportfromawomaninavegetativestateoverthewishesofherparents,ortheScooterLibbycaseaboutappropriateconsequencesforrevealingthenameofaCIAagent.Othersarelesswell-knownbutequallyfascinating:ajudgeonaNativeAmericancourttryingtobalanceU.S.lawwithtriballaw,ayoungKoreanAmericanformerdefenseattorneystrugglingtoadapttohernewresponsibilitiesontheothersideofthebench,andthedifficultdecisionsfacedbyajudgetaskedwithassessingthementalhealthofawomanwhohaskilledherownchildren.Relativelyfewjudgeshavepubliclysharedthethoughtprocessesbehindtheirdecisionmaking.ToughCasesmakesforfascinatingreadingforeveryonefromarmchairattorneysandfansofLawandOrdertothoseactivelyinvolvedinthelegalprofessionwhowantinsightintothepeoplejudgingtheirwork.
