Murder in Tombstone: The Forgotten Trial of Wyatt Earp »

Steven Lubet is professor of law at Northwestern University, where he is the director of the Program on Advocacy and Professionalism. He is the author of numerous books on legal strategy and trial advocacy.

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

Publishers Weekly

The most legendary gunfight in the Wild West-the famous shoot-out at the O.K. Corral-took place in Tombstone, Ariz., on October 26, 1881. Lubet, professor of law at Northwestern University, provides an unusual account of the heretofore obscure court case that followed the gunplay, when local prosecutors with political connections to the Earp brothers' opponents, the Clantons and McLaurys (of whom only Ike Clanton survived), sought quite earnestly to send the Earps and John "Doc" Holliday to the gallows. "To the prosecutors," writes Lubet, "the Earps and Holliday were murderers-law officers out of control.... For the defense, the Earps were steadfast heroes-willing to risk their lives on the mean, dusty streets of Tombstone for the sake of order and stability." As Lubet makes clear in his detailed narrative, the tense, bitterly contested trial was nearly as charged as the shoot-out itself: filled with intrigue, fifth columnists and hidden agendas. The level of emotions may best be illustrated by actions after the acquittals: Clanton partisans shot Virgil Earp on a Tombstone street, crippling him for life, while Morgan Earp took a fatal bullet in the back. Wyatt and Doc, meanwhile, found it advisable to get out of town. Lubet's worthwhile account will interest Wild West buffs as well as readers interested in legal history. Agent, Lydia Wills. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.