4.2.12 WC: 191694 Alan Dershowitz Takes The Stand: An Autobiography Or Taking the Stand—an Autobiography by Alan Dershowitz Preface: Ideology as Biography—A life of continuous change My legal practice has been described as “the most fascinating on the planet.”” Though perhaps hyperbolic, the fact is that during my long career as a lawyer, I have: * represented and counseled presidents, prime ministers, United Nations high officials, judges, senators, actors, musicians, athletes as well as ordinary people who have had the most extraordinary cases; * played a role, sometimes large, sometimes small, in some of the most cataclysmic events of the last half century—from the assassination of JFK, to the forced resignation of Richard Nixon, to the Chappaquiddick investigation of Ted Kennedy, to the impeachment of President Clinton, to the war crimes trials of accused war criminals, to the defense of Israel in international fora. * represented some of the most despised and despicable people on the face of the earth and sat across the table from defendants accused of mass murder, terrorism, war crimes, torture, rape and hate crimes; * — served as a lawyer in some of the most transforming legal cases of the age, including the Pentagon Papers Case, the WikiLeaks investigation, the anti-war prosecutions of Dr. Spock, the Chicago 7, the Weather Underground and Patricia Hearst; * represented some of the most controversial defendants in recent history: OJ Simpson; Claus Von Bulow; Mike Tyson; Leona Helmsley and Michael Milken. This autobiography delves beneath the surface of these cases and causes. It presents an inside account of legal events that have altered history and that continue to have a major impact on the lives of millions of people. What Tocqueville observed two centuries ago—that in our country nearly every great issue finds its way into the courts—is even truer today than it was then. Accordingly, my autobiography will, in some sense, be a history of the last ha