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The Runaway Jury Book Review Essay

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Recommended: Injustice in justice system

Simbulan, Trisha Joy C. IR-156
The Runaway Jury Book Review by John Grisham

The Runaway Jury by John Grisham is, to understate the case, an enthralling book. It reflects a system that has diverged widely from the ideals of seeking justice propounded centuries ago in a far more innocent era. Now, it appears, justice goes to the highest bidder and the innocent can perhaps be marked for life as guilty. It's about two regular people who successfully con an entire courtroom out of random justice. "Trials are too important to be decided by juries." They take matters into their own hands.
The plot is set in Biloxi, Mississippi in the mid-1990s, and is yet another lawsuit against the tobacco companies. The simple environment of the Biloxi …show more content…

Throughout the novel power is achieved through wealth and stature, which can be used to influence or pay anyone off. They use their collective wealth to carry out elaborate schemes to influence and sway the votes of jurors and their families, and their size is used to influence government organizations or anyone who gets in their way. The idea of wealth leading to power is reinforced by this case in Biloxi, as the tobacco companies come up against a much wealthier plaintiff that poses a real threat to the Big Four. The reader sees this primarily through the Big Four, who, although they are actually competing companies, come together to be a strong force against the anti-tobacco legislation. In any trial, but especially those where one side stands to win or lose vast amounts of money, the members of the jury are carefully vetted by both the defense and prosecution lawyers to ensure that the people selected will deliver the verdict they want. Once the jurors are selected, any potential problems with them are dealt with by the lawyers. In this book, jurors are seen to be bribed, tricked, and even threatened so that they have no choice but to deliver the desired

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