Runaway Jury
Okay, now for a book/movie decision that is as easy to call as The Firm.
Runaway Jury, written in 1996, is about a huge tobacco trial in Biloxi. A woman is suing on behalf of her late husband. The tobacco companies keep a "fund" for such lawsuits, and they hire Rankin Fitch (now is that a great name for a bad guy, or what!) to select a jury that will quickly deliver an acquittal. What Fitch doesn't count on is a jury member (Nicholas Easter) with his own plans to sway the jury. He boldly offers the jury for sale to both sides in the trial, but in fact he has already made up his mind how the trial will turn out. The rest of the story is a study of mind control by both sides, with Easter and his lovely accomplice winning out.
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