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Murder in Tombstone: The Forgotten Trial of Wyatt Earp (The Lamar Series in Western History) | 
 enlarge | Author: Steven Lubet
Publisher: Yale University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.00
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Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 219814
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 030011527X
Dewey Decimal Number: 978.02092
EAN: 9780300115277
ASIN: 030011527X
Publication Date: March 28, 2006
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Product Description
The gunfight at the OK Corral is legendary—but what happened once the shooting ended? This book tells the nearly unknown story of the prosecution of Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and Doc Holliday following the gunfight and shows how a talented defense attorney saved them from the gallows.
"[One of the] gems in the vast . . . literature on Wyatt Earp. . . . Lubet’s study of the complicated legal aftermath of the OK Corral manages to be stylish and . . . elegant, a virtue not often found in outlaw studies."—Larry McMurtry, New York Review of Books
“This is the first book to examine in depth these legal proceedings, and no one could have done a better job. Lubet explains, in a clear and interesting way, how Arizona territorial law worked in the 1880s.”—Michael F. Blake, Chicago Tribune
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Great Look at Trial Strategy July 21, 2008
This book is a great read for anyone that wonders what happened before, during and after the street fight on Fremont Street. The author does a great job looking at the strategy of both the prosecution and the defense and how both make an all or nothing effort to win "justice".
It certainly will not quiet those that think the Earp's got away with murder nor does it completely vindicate their actions. It does give some insite into the proceedings and how if not for a small thing here or there, history would remember the events in Tombstone quite differently.
 6 stars--This is a work of a scholar, and it is a masterpiece May 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm almost always hesitant (which is a gross understatement) to give a review on books. On this masterpiece, I have no hesitation.
Unfortunately, the trial of the Doc and the Earps, which had a great deal of real drama, has been largely long-since buried and the dirt has covered the coffin. Fortunately, Lubet, with remarkable skill and insight, resurrects the trial, which was as important as the "Freemont Street Fiasco" (as biographer Gary Roberts termed the gunfight).
Lubet, a law professor at Northwestern, is uniquely qualified to concisely and clearly define and explain what was a stake in the Spicer hearing, the factors that lead to the prosecutions' failure and the success of the defense, and the ramifications of just how crucial this hearing really was to Doc and the Earps.
Stephen Lubet is not merely a lawyer professor. He is a law professor that has done studied the political situations at Tombstone, the life as it was in Tombstone, and the plethora of other factors involving the hearing that are too numerous to mention. These factors place the Spicer hearing in an accurate historical background that is fascinating.
And yes, even the "lay-person" can understand Lubet's presentation! Since I am a "lay-person," this makes the book just that much more educational and enjoyable.
I highly recommend it.
A realistic disclosure February 16, 2008
The book and story opens your eyes on the real old west. Hollywood has skewed our conception of life in the wild western frontier. You gain a fuller understanding of western hero's and how they navigated through the rough and tumble civilisation. I enjoyed every page.
OK Corral to Judge Spicer's Court May 31, 2007
Steven Lubet has taken a thought provoking look at the fallout surrounding the October 26, 1881 shootout on the streets of Tombstone. He gives the background of the major players and a Wild West Frontier look at a growing mining camp during the early days of Tombstone.
The buildup to the shootout has all the elements of conflict, partisan politics with opposing newspapers fanning the flames, a love triangle, which involves both suitors in a run for the office of sheriff of Cochise County, and a gang of bullies known as cowboys running roughshod over citizens and ranchers in the Tombstone area.
Ike Clanton, one of the most provocative voices among the cowboys sets the stage for the shootout the night before with his threats and rants against the Earps and Holliday. The threats continued the following morning with other cowboys joining in the chorus. In an effort to disarm the cowboys and quell the disturbance, Chief of Police Virgil Earp deputized his brothers Wyatt and Morgan Earp along with Doc Holliday.
When the confrontation becomes imminent Ike Clanton, the chief loud mouth, ran away and left the fighting to his younger brother, Billy Clanton and two associates Tom and Frank McLaury. At the end the shootout cowboys Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury were all dead. Virgil and Morgan Earp both received debilitating gunshot wounds, Doc Holliday suffered a bad bruise from a glancing bullet, and Wyatt Earp was not hit.
Cowboy backers and lawyers immediately filed murder charges against the Earps and Holliday and hauled them into Judge Wells Spicer's court for a hearing.
Prosecution and defense were represented by capable lawyers skilled in the law and articulate in the courtroom.
Lawyers Tom Fitch and T.J. Drum represented the Earps and Holliday in the courtroom while District Attorney Lyttleton Price and lawyer Ben Goodrich presented the prosecutions case.
More than a dozen witnesses took the stand during the 28-day hearing and Lubet uses all of them to point out strategies being employed by prosecution and defense attorneys. The questions and cross examinations, objections and rulings by Judge Spicer leads to good courtroom drama. And there is a good balance in presentations until Ike Clanton takes the stand and makes a string of wild allegations that could not possibly be proven.
In the end Judge Spicer rules in favor of the Earps and Holliday. Spicer advises the prosecution team that they have every right to pursue a grand jury indictment. However, it was his opinion that there was mot enough evidence to sustain a conviction.
The cowboys were not finished though, and pursued a vendetta using threats and intimidation against Judge Spicer and Mayor Clum. In the dead of night shotgun blasts hit and almost kill Virgil Earp. Unfortunately their next try succeeds, when they shoot Morgan Earp in the back
To avoid an all out bloodbath Doc and Wyatt eventually leave Tombstone for a safe haven in Colorado.
Tom Barnes author of "Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone."
"The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle."
"The Goring Collection."
The Hurricane Hunters And Lost in the Bermuda Triangle
Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone: The Life and Times of John Henry Holliday
The Goring Collection
Reality in the West & Justice Served April 8, 2007
I always appreciate looking as closely at historical events through a realistic eye. This book didn't fail to meet those expectations. Although I must admit that I raised an eyebrow occasionally at some of the author's assertions e.g. Virgil Earp's tenure as police chief was a disaster. I nonetheless could appreciate what the Earps had accomplished by ridding Tombstone of scum. Sometimes enough is just enough and I can't hold the Earps to blame for dealing with the "Cowboy menace".
I am sure this is closer to the truth than many of the movies portray, however I am curious to read other books on the subject. One can certainly identify the various slants people of different backgrounds bring to the table. As mentioned in this story, there are numerous people who later go on to write accounts of the ordeal. That itself is rather amusing whereas they testified to not seeing the entire event or were proven incorrect by the "provables" on the stand.
Much akin to the judge's predicament in this story, it is up to the reader to determine who is able to be trusted and what their various motivations and agenda's are. Considering that people cannot agree on balls and strikes when watching a ballgame it is very amusing and rather interesting to read what a witness' take on the ordeal was.
I am a fan of the Earps' saga. This book only strengthened my beliefs that the Earps were justified and honorable men and that the Clantons et al were vile individuals.
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