An entire library could be filled with the literature of Abraham Lincoln, covering virtually every facet of his life, both real and imagined. Volumes would range from the scholarly, like Carl Sandburg’s six-volume biography, to the not-so-scholarly, such as Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. Dan Abram’s and David Fisher’s recently published, Lincoln’s Last Trial: The Murder Case that Propelled Him to the Presidency would be a valuable addition to this library, covering a lesser-understood part of Lincoln’s life. The book has a place on your bookshelf not only for illuminating Lincoln’s legal career but for the practical advice it contains for the trial attorney.

Lincoln’s Last Trial begins with a description of Lincoln’s life as a lawyer who rode the circuit, handling all forms of cases, including both prosecuting and defending criminal matters. Prior to the Civil War, few counties had formal prosecutor’s offices. When a criminal matter needed to be tried, the local government would hire a private lawyer as the prosecutor and if a judge wasn’t available, a lawyer or trusted local citizen would be appointed to sit as judge for that case only. Trials were sometimes held in rooms above taverns, in barns, or inside the taverns themselves. Apparently even bedrooms sometimes doubled as courtrooms.

After discussing Lincoln’s legal training, the authors describe how in his pre-presidential career he served in all roles of the criminal justice system as it existed at that time: Like most attorneys of that period, Lincoln had no specialty; he dealt with both civil and criminal cases. When called upon he would sit as a judge, act for the community as a prosecutor or represent individuals with a gripe, a claim, a need or a criminal charge.

Although I found the description of the pre-Civil War legal practice fascinating, the best part of the book describes Lincoln’s defense of Peachy Quinn Harrison during his murder trial. Lincoln’s defense of Harrison was closely followed in the local media as both Harrison and the victim were from prominent families. Largely gathered from a transcript of the trial only discovered in 1989, the book describes Lincoln’s trial strategy and courtroom prowess.

The national spotlight also focused on the trial because Lincoln was at that time a dark-horse presidential candidate. His recent debates with Stephen Douglas had propelled him to the national spotlight and a trial loss could have knocked him right out of it. The authors make a good case that Lincoln’s presidential aspirations were riding along with the verdict and they effectively incorporate the trial into the broader history of pre-Civil War United States.

I highly recommend the book both for those with general historical interest in Abraham Lincoln and for practicing attorneys, who can glean trial practice tips still useful today. First of all, Lincoln always spoke plainly to the jury. He did not use the flowery prose of the day. Rather he spoke to the jury just like he was talking to some friends. Most importantly, Lincoln understood that most cases turn on one significant point and, “[h]e willingly conceded those points he couldn’t win or that made little difference, building up goodwill with the judge and jury that might pay off when he pounced on the salient issue.” The book describes in detail how in multiple cases, Lincoln had an uncanny ability to identify the turning points of a case and win those turning points while conceding unnecessary arguments. Another related lesson from the book for trials lawyers is to understand and identify those turning points prior to jury selection and pick jurors who would be more likely to side with you on the critical issues.

I enjoyed reading this book. The authors did a fantastic job of weaving Lincoln’s last significant trial as a defense attorney into the looming presidential election and national strife. It is fascinating to read how Lincoln tried cases to juries and ponder how much of that experience built his amazing ability to communicate with the masses.