Illusion of Justice: Inside Making a Murderer and America's Broken System

Jerome F. Buting

Feb 2017 · HarperCollins

About this ebook

“A compelling portrait of the mechanisms of building a murder defense. A fantastic look behind the scenes of the U.S. justice system.” —Kirkus Reviews

Over his career, Jerome F. Buting has spent hundreds of hours in courtrooms representing defendants in criminal trials. When he agreed to join Dean Strang as co-counsel for the defense in Steven A. Avery vs. State of Wisconsin, he knew a tough fight lay ahead. But, as he reveals in Illusion of Justice, no-one could have predicted just how twisted that fight would be—or that it would become the center of the documentary Making a Murderer, which made Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey household names.

Buting’s powerful, riveting boots-on-the-ground narrative of Avery’s and Dassey’s cases becomes a springboard to examine the shaky integrity of law enforcement and justice in the United States, which Buting has witnessed firsthand for more than thirty-five years. From his early career as a public defender to his success overturning wrongful convictions working with the Innocence Project, his story provides an insider view into the high-stakes arena of criminal defense law; the difficulties of forensic science; and a horrifying reality of biased interrogations, coerced or false confessions, faulty eyewitness testimony, official misconduct, and more.

Combining narrative reportage with critical commentary and personal reflection, Buting explores his professional and personal motivations, career-defining cases, and what must happen if our broken system is to be saved. Illusion of Justice is a tour-de-force from a relentless and eloquent advocate for justice who is determined, in the face of overwhelming odds, to make America’s judicial system work as it is designed to do.

Ratings and reviews

Steven Avery is guilty. The Michael Griesbach book Indefensible is a much better book, and it reveals why Avery is guilty. There was no police conspiracy to frame Steven Avery. Ken Kratz in his book Avery reveals so much about the case that was left out of Making of A Murderer. If you believe Avery is innocent, you have to constuct a fantasy of police misconduct that is utterly unrealistic. Dr. Phil elaborates (YouTube) the 10 important facts about Avery that the public doesn't know, and allows Nancy Grace to explain why she thinks Avery is guilty.

The story about this man has been skewed in his favor. Not all of the facts were reviewed by the author or documentarians.

Easy to read and certainly raises questions again about the American justice system.

About the author

Jerome F. Buting is a shareholder in the Brookfield, Wisconsin, law firm of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. He received his undergraduate degree in forensic studies from Indiana University and his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was board director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers,  past president of the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and chair of the Wisconsin State Bar Criminal Law Section. He lectures worldwide and is frequently sought for his legal expertise. He is also the recipient of the Fierce Advocate Award from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the James Joyce Award from University College Dublin, and the Trinity College Dublin Praeses Elit Award.