Is it possible for a jury to function in cases attracting enormous public scrutiny and in an environment of intense political and industrial strife? This question was raised repeatedly throughout the early stages of one of the most sensational criminal trials of the decade. In October 1910 an explosion demolished a portion of the Los Angeles Times building, killing and injuring many of the nonunion printers employed there. Many suspected the explosion had been caused by a bomb. Two bombs, in fact, had been found that same night outside the homes of the newspaper's publisher and the secretary of the city's Merchants and Manufacturers Association. An investigation resulted in the arrests of three men, John J. McNamara, secretary of one of the unions supporting the strike against the newspaper; his brother James; and Ortie McManigal, who would later become a witness...