The Trials of Laurence Powell: Law, Space, and a ‘Big Time Use of Force’

Abstract

This paper is intended as a contribution to a growing literature concerned with showing the importance of conceptions of space in interpretive legal struggles. The focus of the paper is on jury trials, where lawyers engage in an open contest to develop the most convincing narrative. It is suggested here that the geographic context of these narratives can help determine their plausibility. The author also argues for the necessity to recognize the influence of extralegal discourses on interpretive legal struggles, and focuses in particular on two such discourses, those of morality and scientific administration. It is further suggested that such discourses can be infused with conceptions of space and territory in ways that affect their capacity to influence juries, An attempt is made to demonstrate the significance of these arguments with an analysis of the trials of the four Los Angeles Police Department officers charged in the beating of Rodney King.