Some of J.D.'s less-than-orthodox opinions about jury selection: "You want to have six have-nots on your jury." No bankers, professors or "picky, picky" people like engineers and accountants. He wants jurors who deal with people face to face in their everyday lives, not jewelers who are "looking inside watches all day." His ideal jury would be made up of unemployed truck drivers. And he wouldn't care if they slept through the whole trial!

Any other part of the trial he could leave to associates, but J.D. Spence wants to select the jury himself. In questioning prospective jurors (called voire dire, literally translated "to tell the truth") he doesn't settle for a vague yes or no answer. He admits to using psychology to find out how they feel about an issue. Without ever asking a direct question about religious preference, for example, he will find out in other ways what he wants to know. In a suit involving large money damages against the Catholic church --with three nuns seated at the Defense table -- he asked a prospective juror if she could, in good conscience, find for the Plaintiff, "or would all the color run out of your face?"

The other Spence (Gerry), while perhaps not as colorful a speaker as J.D., makes up for it in appearance. In his signature fringed suede jacket and cowboy boots, he looks more like a Montana backwoodsman than the "winningest" trial lawyer in America. He has taken, and won, a surprising number of high profile cases, including the renowned Karen Silkwood case. He has also written about others, such as the O.J. Simpson murder trial. His books are great reads, even if you know little or nothing about the law. Most deal with the all-important issue of presenting -- and winning -- arguments in court.

Gerry would agree with J.D., that jury selection is critical for winning (which he defines simply as "getting what you want"). In Federal court it is the judge who questions prospective jurors, and he is critical of most of them, declaring: "If I did as bad a job as they do, I'd be sued for malpractice!"

In one of his books, "The Making of a Country Lawyer," Gerry Spence tells of the psychological devastation he suffered as a young man after his "angel mother" committed suicide when he was barely out of his teens. A deeply religious woman, it was generally believed that she was distraught over her son's sinful ways. (He readily admits to being a hellion growing up in the Wild West.) His anguish and guilt over her death, which he says he has carried with him all his life, he nows considers a "gift" because it helped him gain empathy and insight into the feelings of others. Determined to become a champion of the "little guy," he founded Trial Lawyers College, a nonprofit school where, pro bono, he teaches attorneys for the people how to present their cases -- and win -- against powerful corporate and government interests.

Two lawyers named Spence, both passionate about justice. But, if we are to believe the great Clarence Darrow, there is no such thing as justice -- in or out of court. What would they say to that, I wonder?