The George Kelley Collection
Legal Stories


THE COURT OF LAST RESORT
Erle Stanley Gardner
Pocket, 1954.
Bison Catalog Record

Gardner presents a detailed explanation of the origin and work of an organization known as "The Court of Last Resort," an informal yet highly effective group that came to life during the 1950s. It was the brainchild of Erle Stanley Gardner and Harry Steeger, publisher of Argosy magazine. Both men felt strongly that enlightened public opinion could remedy injustice, and they believed that one way to accomplish this was by publicizing the cases of innocent men who had been wrongfully convicted of murder. Gardner invited legal and criminal experts from throughout the United States to join his investigative group, and for several years, Argosy magazine ran regular features detailing the Court's activities. Here Gardner recounts many of the individual cases that his rather unconventional "court" reopened, investigated, and brought to the attention of the American.