(1991)Pretty good historical novel about the Randolphs of Virginia in 1793. Nancy and her brother-in-law Richard are accused of having an affair and the murder of their newborn baby. The story really picks up as they are brought to trial and are defended by future Chief Justice John Marshall and patriot Patrick Henry. Even though they are aquitted, it is learned in the end that there was a baby only it was fathered by Theodorick Randolph, who Nancy had secretly married against her father's wishes. Richard's brother Jack who was scorned by Nancy in a previous failed rape attempt by him, tries to get his revenge by encouraging the case.(Book description) In 1793, Virginia s most powerful family found itself embroiled in scandal: Richard Randolph and his sister-in-law, the beautiful Nancy Randolph, were charged with adultery and infanticide. Richard Randolph demanded a public trial. Richard s stepfather, Judge Henry St. George Tucker, hired John Marshall, a young lawyer who was connected to their family through marriage. John Marshall would go on to become the greatest Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, a man whose theories of law are now taught to every first year law student, though at the time of the Randolph trial he was relatively unknown. Uncertain about Marshall s abilities, the Randolph family at the last minute and unbeknownst to Marshall brought in co-counsel; none other than founding father and former Virginia governor Patrick Henry. Henry s wild, improvisational style clashed with Marshall s reasoned defense based on the facts, but Henry was so successful that Marshall was forced to learn from him and then to improve on the master. Author Michael Schein, a former professor of American legal history, drew on John Marshall s actual trial notes in writing this novel that centers on the trial of the 18th century. Just Deceits shows how the remarkable defense team of wily Patrick Henry and ambitious John Marshall battled each other, their clients, the prosecution, and the truth itself, in an effort to save their clients from the gallows. In its ribald portrayal of a young legal system already driven more by spectacle than evidence, Just Deceits calls into question the feasibility of uncovering "the whole truth." Ultimately, as secrets are revealed and relationships brought to light, Just Deceits tells a story as much about the trials of love as about the trial in the courtroom.

Very interesting if you're a former High School history teacher whose favorite period in US History begins with the Revolution and vends when Old Hickory takes office. Others might find it a tad boring. Brilliant people, new political ideas put in action, mixed with a society not to far removed from the Puritans in New England. Add those wealthy planters.......great story beyond the trial ( )