I went to law school for a lot of reasons. But one of the reasons was because I was impressed with the career of an American criminal lawyer, Clarence Darrow. He was born in the middle of the nineteenth century and died before world war two. He was born in Ohio. And went to law school at Michigan University but did not graduate.
Back in those days you actually did not have to go to law school to take the state bar exam. I think if I am not mistaken that Abraham Lincoln also did not graduate from law school. But Clarence Darrow was born to be a criminal lawyer. His arguments before juries were said to draw tears from even the judge. He had many theatrical tricks up his sleeve also to go along with his eloquent arguments.
He had released the main spring from his pocket watch. Before he would make his summation to the jury he would stand in front of them and begin winding his watch. He would wind it and wind it and wind it. As the members of the jury watched and expected the watch spring to snap he would wind and wind and wind. And then he would calmly then place his watch into his vest pocket. The jury which was ready to snap like they expected the watch to snap would listen with baited breath to his closing or opening argument.
Clarence Darrow defended two confessed murderers in the 1920's. They were Loeb and Leopold. These were two young men who decided to kill a distant relative for the excitement of the experience. The boy they killed was fourteen years old. Both of the killers came from rich families and the young men had lived a privileged and pampered life.
The families hired the best criminal lawyer they could find, Clarence Darrow. The lawyer surprised all when he had Loeb and Leopold plead guilty to the crime. There was certainly enough evidence to convict them and Darrow did not want to subject them to a hateful jury. He instead pleaded for their lives. He was an opponent of the death penalty his entire career.
He was able to get the young men a sentence of 99 years and the jury spared them the death penalty. Clarence Darrow also was the lawyer who defended the teacher in the South who was accused of teaching evolution to his students when the school district prohibited the teaching of evolution.
Today of course teachers are put on trial for teaching creationism rather than evolution. There are no lawyers like Clarence Darrow however to defend teachers who would teach other theories of life except evolution.
Clarence Darrow was a great lawyer, a great advocate, and a great showman. He needed all of these characteristics to leave his legacy in American law. I finished law school and I passed the bar. But I do not practice law. It was simply not my cup of tea as it were. I do not possess the showmanship or the area of greatness Clarence Darrow possessed. But I am fascinated to this day by this criminal lawyer.