Book Review: Carol Haber, The Trials of Laura Fair: Sex, Murder, and Insanity in the Victorian West

During the nineteenth century, the inquisitorial justice system, in which the investigation was typically overseen by a prosecutor or an examining magistrate, and the conduct of the trial was largely in the hands of the court, was replaced by the adversarial justice system. In the adversarial model, both the prosecutor and the defense were responsible for gathering evidence and presenting a narrative of the crime during the trial. Therefore, the courtroom became a sentimental theater in which opposing counsels recreated for the jury the story of the defendant and the events leading to the crime. The trial, therefore, represented the exclusive forum for seeking out and determining the truth