The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald

The assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby robbed the nation of the closure it so desperately needed following the death of John F. Kennedy. The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald asks what might have happened if the assassin had lived to stand trial for his murder of America’s beloved president. This meticulously researched and riveting courtroom drama follows prosecutors Abe Summer and Elaine Navarro as they work to bring Oswald to justice despite the legend in Oswald’s corner: famed attorney Percy Foreman. With mysteries and coincidences swirling around the case, Oswald’s conviction doesn’t seem set in stone. After Ruby fails to assassinate the assassin, can Summer and Navaro bring peace of mind back to the American people by sending a murderer to prison?

Author William Alsup’s fair and thrilling novel is all the more compelling thanks in no small part to his experiences and expertise as a federal judge. With his background in research and jurisprudence, Alsup has become an expert on the Oswald case. From newspaper clippings to the Warren Report, The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald is based on real and complicated history. Readers with a passion for the procedural will relish the details Alsup provides behind the scenes of a prosecution, demonstrating just how much time and effort goes into even cases that seem cut and dry. America never recovered from the killing of its king of Camelot, but The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald provides a window into what might have been.

Commended for Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards (Historical Fiction) 2022

“When Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald less than 48 hours after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Oswald, we lost our best chance to learn the full truth behind the crime of the century. With his fascinating and meticulously researched vision of the trial Oswald never had, Judge William Alsup gives us the next best thing. Alsup's fictional account is remarkably satisfying for those who yearn for what might have been. -- Larry J. Sabato , author of The Kennedy Half-Century , director of UVA Center for Politics”

I covered that awful weekend in Dallas and always wondered what we would have learned if Oswald had lived to stand trial. Well, William Alsup has managed to make that happen. Using years of meticulous research, he not only brings Oswald into court—he brings in the late and legendary lawyer Percy Foreman to defend him. The result is a dramatic, fast-moving story as informative as it is compelling. No conspiracy theories here; the evidence against him is all based on fact and the defense Foreman presents is fascinating. This is a serious book that could only have come from a veteran jurist like Alsup. The bonus is it’s also a great read.

An edgy, hard-boiled legal noir that dares to re-imagine the outcome of one of the most anguishing moments in our recent American history, and in the process gives us a courtroom drama full of twists and turns like no other. In Bill Alsup’s hands, the trial of Lee Harvey Oswald becomes the trial of the century.

When Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald less than 48 hours after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Oswald, we lost our best chance to learn the full truth behind the crime of the century. With his fascinating and meticulously researched vision of the trial Oswald never had, Judge William Alsup gives us the next best thing. Alsup’s fictional account is remarkably satisfying for those who yearn for what might have been.

Brilliant from start to finish! The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald is thoroughly entertaining— as good as it gets, in fact—but it’s also a remarkable meditation on the Kennedy assassination, the evolution of American jurisprudence, and the quirks and trapdoors that occasionally bedevil the legal system. Judge Alsup has written a masterpiece.

An intricate behind-the-scenes account of how, in this alternative history, opposing lawyers developed their evidence and trial strategies, how reporters covered the event, and how Oswald’s personal history fed all of the conspiracy theories.

WILLIAM ALSUP is a senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Alsup received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Mississippi State University in 1967, a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1971, and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1971.

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