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Actual Innocence
by Barry SiegelCalifornia lawyer Greg Monarch was in no mood for visitors. But it's not every day a federal judge comes knocking at his door, especially with a curious request: to review the final appeal of a murderer on Death Row who personally asked for Greg's assistance. Tired of defending killers, Greg has every intention of turning it down--until he discovers the prisoner is a former lover he hasn't seen in two decades: the fiery, impetuous Sarah Trant.
The Alternate
by John S. MartelIs there room in the overcrowded arena of the legal thriller for yet another major player? If that new arrival happens to be blessed with the real-life experience of San Francisco trial lawyer John Martel, the answer is a heartfelt yes. Martel advised the Los Angeles District Attorney's office on the Menendez Brothers retrial and the O.J. Simpson case (proving even a pro can't win them all). He has been called one of the top 10 trial lawyers in America by the National Law Journal . Best of all, he can write compelling scenes that take place both in and out of court, and can create characters who rise above their genre origins to become real people. Elliot Ashford, a millionaire congressman, is forced to resign because of a sex scandal. When he's charged with the brutal murder of his wife, Lara, assistant district attorney Grace Harris seems to have everything she needs to make a strong case for the prosecution. She also has ambitions that could propel her career up several notches. Then some key DNA evidence mysteriously disappears, and Grace's chief adversary--a former defense superstar named Barrett Dickson--appears ready for a comeback. But neither side is prepared for the barrage of political infighting, dirty tricks, and mysterious malevolence from inside the jury room. Three more murders and two trials later, you'll emerge from The Alternate with strong doubts about the legal system--but a feeling of certainty that John Martel has a future as a novelist.
The Attorney
by Steve MartiniSleuthing California defense counsel Paul Madriani lands one of his twistiest cases to date. His client, sport fisherman Jonah Hale, won $87 million in a lottery but lost his heart. Jonah's got custody of his eight-year-old grandkid Mandy, because his daughter Jessica is a cokehead party animal. Sprung from jail, Jessica demands cash. Jonah says no. So Jessica and Mandy disappear, with help from marital-rape-victim-turned-fanatical-activist Zolanda Suade. Suade's group, Vanishing Victims, specializes in thwarting courts and bashing rich males. Madriani tries to reason with Suade, who almost pulls a gun on him, then taunts him with a press release: Suade's going public with Jessica's charge that Jonah molested Mandy. Madriani's girlfriend works in Child Protective Services, so he gets a tidbit or two of inside info--the charge is phony, but because CPS can't comment on cases, the smear will suffice to ignite a media firestorm. When Suade turns up dead, media interest does not subside. In court, circumstantial evidence forms a tightening noose around Jonah's neck, and Madriani starts wondering whether Jonah did kill Suade. Also, underworld types who may know Jessica and/or a Mexican drug lord start stalking Madriani, and more corpses pop up. Martini, who covered the Manson trial, then became a lawyer and a bestselling novelist, is great at realistic, ingenious courtroom suspense, media-circus scenes, and dramatizing the impact of office politics on legal proceedings. His characters and prose are workmanlike but sturdy. Always grouped with lawyers-turned-writers Scott Turow and John Grisham, Martini thinks Turow's a better writer (in terms of character and dialogue), and Grisham's a natural-born storyteller who towers over all, but that he, Martini, is a better storyteller than Turow and a better writer than Grisham. The Attorney is evidence that he may be right.
The Best Defense
by Kate WilhelmAttorney Barbara Holloway has given up on her father's dream for her to become a successful lawyer. The deaths of both Barbara's mother and her lover have deeply affected her, and now she lives on the tiny salary she makes helping the poor who can't pay for "real" legal services. When Lucille Reiner first asks Barbara to help her sister, Barbara has no idea that Lucille's sister is Paula Kemmerman, dubbed the "Baby Killer" by the press after her six-year-old daughter was burned to death, allegedly by a temporarily deranged Paula. The more Barbara investigates, the more certain she becomes that Paula is the innocent victim both of a right-wing fundamentalist with an ax to grind and of a legal system that has turned its back on an innocent woman.
Character Witness
by R. A. ForsterWhen Elizabeth Cotter's uncle, legendary criminal attorney Gerry O'Doul, invites her to join his Beverly Hills practice, it's the opportunity of a lifetime. But O'Doul's firm turns out to be more flash than substance--until a new client walks through the door. Now, as a family's carefully guarded secret explodes in scandal and murder, Elizabeth must uncover the one thing even more dangerous than the killer--the truth.
The First Counsel
by Brad MeltzerIf ever a book was destined to head straight to the bestseller list, this is it. Brad Meltzer, whose previous books, The Tenth Justice and Dead Even , did extremely well, has fashioned a thriller that has everything: death and deceit in the corridors of power, with dirty deeds leading straight to the top of the White House inner circle. Michael Garrick is a young man with a dream job. As a lawyer in the White House, he rubs shoulders with the top men and women in the country. And that includes Shadow, the Secret Service code name for the First Daughter, Nora Hartson, who likes Michael a lot. It's difficult dating the First Daughter; Michael and Nora are never alone, and Nora has a rebellious streak about the constant surveillance she is under, so it is no surprise when she encourages Michael to lose the tail when they are out one evening. But when they see Edgar Simon, the President's chief adviser and Michael's boss, in a gay bar, they decide to follow him. What they see will put Michael's career--and his life--in danger. Back at the White House, Michael talks to one of his colleagues about the legal and ethical issues of the Edgar Simon situation. She says she will get back to him, but before she does she is murdered, and Michael is on the list of suspects. Nora could corroborate his alibi, but suddenly it's impossible to get hold of her. She doesn't answer his calls and, when Michael finally does speak to her, she doesn't want to be involved, leaving him baffled and vulnerable. This is a roller coaster of a thriller, one with a unique view of the day-to-day dealings in the most powerful house in the world.
Animal Rights: the Inhumane Crusade
by Daniel T. OliverA thorough-going discussion and analysis of the animal rights movement, including history, philosophy and tactics. Contains dosiers of prominant figures as well as organizations. Chapter footnotes and bibliography are also included.
Class Action
by Catherine ArnoldWhile lawyer Karen Perry-Mondori investigates the murder of a homeless man, the victim's son casts doubt on the medical facts of the case and Karen finds herself faced off against a secretive research firm with possible government links.
The Face of Justice
by Bill BlumIn the midst of a custody battle against his wife for his daughter, a lawyer is confronted by a terror from his past. A ruthless killer--the lawyer's ex-client--escapes prison and kidnaps the judge who sentenced him. Contacted by the FBI, the lawyer becomes involved in the hunt for the killer, who taunts the search team with videos of the judge and late night phone calls. Still bound by the attorney-client privilege with his former client, the lawyer embarks on his own investigation based on suspicions he can't sharewith law enforcement officials...and discovers a strange connection between his wife and the kidnapping case!
The Case of the Fan-dancer's Horse
by Erle Stanley GardnerIt all begins with the fan-dancer's "costume" - what there is of it.
Beyond All Reason
by Daniel A. Farber Suzanna SherryWould you want to be operated on by a surgeon trained at a medical school that did not evaluate its students? Would you want to fly in a plane designed by people convinced that the laws of physics are socially constructed? Would you want to be tried by a legal system indifferent to the distinction between fact and fiction? These questions may seem absurd, but these are theories being seriously advanced by radical multiculturalists that force us to ask them. These scholars assert that such concepts as truth and merit are inextricably racist and sexist, that reason and objectivity are merely sophisticated masks for ideological bias, and that reality itself is nothing more than a socially constructed mechanism for preserving the power of the ruling elite. In Beyond All Reason, liberal legal scholars Daniel A. Farber and Suzanna Sherry mount the first systematic critique of radical multiculturalism as a form of legal scholarship. Beginning with an incisive overview of the origins and basic tenets of radical multiculturalism, the authors critically examine the work of Derrick Bell, Catherine MacKinnon, Patricia Williams, and Richard Delgado, and explore the alarming implications of their theories. Farber and Sherry push these theories to their logical conclusions and show that radical multiculturalism is destructive of the very goals it wishes to affirm. If, for example, the concept of advancement based on merit is fraudulent, as the multiculturalists claim, the disproportionate success of Jews and Asians in our culture becomes difficult to explain without opening the door to age-old anti-Semitic and racist stereotypes. If historical and scientific truths are entirely relative social constructs, then Holocaust denial becomes merely a matter of perspective, and Creationism has as much "validity" as evolution. The authors go on to show that rather than promoting more dialogue, the radical multiculturalist preferences for legal storytelling and identity politics over reasoned argument produces an insular set of positions that resist open debate. Indeed, radical multiculturalists cannot critically examine each others' ideas without incurring vehement accusations of racism and sexism, much less engage in fruitful discussion with a mainstream that does not share their assumptions. Here again, Farber and Sherry show that the end result of such thinking is not freedom but a kind of totalitarianism where dissent cannot be tolerated and only the naked will to power remains to settle differences. Sharply written and brilliantly argued, this book is itself a model of the kind of clarity, civility, and dispassionate critical thinking which the authors seek to preserve from the attacks of the radical multiculturalists. With far-reaching implications for such issues as government control of hate speech and pornography, affirmative action, legal reform, and the fate of all minorities, Beyond All Reason is a provocative contribution to one of the most important controversies of our time.
Grey Seas Under
by Farley MowatThis is the story of the foundation Franklin, an ocean salvage vessel that operated during the 1930s and 40s. Here we see fires, collisions, groundings and fires. Here we meet the heroic men who battle the sea at it's worst. If you like true action adventures, you'll like this book.
Guns, Crime, and Freedom
by Wayne LapierreLaPierre, CEO at the National Rifle Association, argues against the banning of firearms. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.
O. J.: the Last Word
by Gerry SpenceGerry Spence Wyoming country lawyer, analyzes the issues around the O. J. Simpson case. He brings out his own reasons for the case and its consequences and he does not lay blame as most of the other books on this issue have, but rather offers reasons for our judicial system still being a great and dependable one even though a jury chose to free a man who is guilty, but not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt which is a safety to all of us as American citizens.