No comments about Judicial Enigma: The First Justice Harlan.

2 comments about Five Years of Bad Coffee: A White-Collar Criminal Does Blue-Collar Time.

1. This is the only book that I am aware of that actually tells the middle class American what it is like to serve time in prison. While that fear of the unknown lurks in the back of all our minds, Five Years of Bad Coffee takes us behind the curtain. It is well written, marvelously perceptive, often humorous, and just a very good read.



2. Christensen is that rare criminal that's not white collar enough to do time in a country club prison but literate enough to write a good tale. Although I've never been inside a jail I suspect this book captures the nuance of the entire experience. He speaks with authority, humor and self awareness. I stumbled on Five Years by chance. It's good. Buy it and read it.

No comments about Patriots and Cosmopolitans: Hidden Histories of American Law.

No comments about A Biographical Dictionary Of The Judges Of England: From The Conquest To The Present Time 1066-1870.

3 comments about Once upon a Time in Los Angeles: The Trials of Earl Rogers.

1. I have read all three of the Earl Rogers books out there I have found. "Take the witness" was very good and colorful. Earl Roger's daughter's book "final verdict" was endearing but overly sentimental.

   "One upon a time" certainly has its strength in chronologically listing Roger's major trials and the tactics used.

   The reader will be dissappointed if they are looking for much of the life outside of the courtroom of Rogers. Nevertheless, this book deserves a five star rating as it adds graciously to the very limited Rogers library. The author quotes Roger's cross examinations at length and matter of factly tells how Rogers skillfully defends his clients.




2. Once Upon A Time In Los Angeles: The Trials Of Earl Rogers by Michael Trope is an eminently readable account of a prosecutor whose Los Angeles career lasted from 1897 to 1918, and whose trials defending such notable figures as Clarence Darrow, heavyweight champion Jess Willard and United Railroad chief Patrick Calhoun contributed to his fame and celebrity. Once Upon A Time In Los Angeles is a fascinating look at the L.A. judicial system of a century past. Highly recommended for student of American legal history, as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in the life and times of this famous lawyer, or the nature of the turn-of-the-century Los Angeles legal system he knew so well.



3. Earl Rogers's father was a preacher, and Earl would also hold an audience in rapt attention, listening to every word. His father saved souls, Earl saved men from the hangman. Earl first worked as a newspaper reporter, then learned law working for Senator Stephen M. White (another heavy drinker).

   Earl Rogers invented many of the tactics that have become common criminal law stratagem. He was the first American lawyer to use the science of ballistics, and was at the leading edge of medical forensic science. Rogers assisted in performing over 30 autopsies, and been present for 70 others. He saved one client from hanging after an exhumation failed to find a shot to the head that several eyewitnesses testified to seeing. Rogers was among the first to use charts and blackboards in the courtroom, along with scale models, to get his point across to a jury. Out of 77 important murder cases he lost only 3. He always dressed in the height of fashion to make a good impression. The practice of law was like being an actor on a stage before an audience.

   Rogers did extensive research into the background of the jurors. The practice of jury investigation was long in use by the early twentieth century; it is not a recent phenomenon. His father Lowell once rebuked him for any attempt to save a man, known by him to be guilty, by dishonest or deceptive means.

   When Clarence Darrow was indicted for bribery, Earl Rogers (who had worked for the "Merchants and Manufacturers Association") defended him. Darrow's private detective bribed a juror, was arrested, then turned state's evidence. Later this private detective claimed the payoff came from Samuel Gompers himself! Page 189 tells how this detective previously worked with the US Marshals office, then went to the District Attorney's office before working for Darrow. When this detective left his meeting with the special federal prosecutor, he carried the bribe money (p.191)! (Was this detective a double agent? Did Earl Rogers learn this from his business friends?) Roger's defense was that Darrow was in the process of negotiating a plea bargain, and a stingy Darrow would not spend all that money on a bribe when the case would not go to trial: he had no motive (p.196)! The jury said "not guilty" after just 35 minutes of deliberation. Darrow had trouble on another case, and was forced to surrender his Calif. bar license, effectively removing him from any future cases.

   As you read through these famous cases, how many of them remind you of stories seen on TV over the years? Adela R. St. Johns, eyewitness and journalist, wrote a longer and more colorful biography. Rogers could have gone on to higher national fame, except for his drinking and womanizing, Adela said. But given the scandals of Representatives, Senators, and Presidents, maybe it was only a lack of the right connections?

No comments about The Conventional Man: The Diaries of Ontario Chief Justice Robert A. Harrison, 1856-1878 (Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History).

No comments about Ipse Dixit: How the World Looks to a Federal Judge.

No comments about Great American Judges: An Encyclopedia.

5 comments about Lawyer: My Trials and Jubilations.

1. Having been in law practice for just over 15 years, I've always sought inspiration from my older, more experienced and [much more] wizened colleagues. I've often found such inspiration in the example of well known trial lawyers who seem "larger than life."
   I don't really compare myself to any of these great legal lions. However, I do draw from their gutsy manner and styles, their talent and inspiration. Joe Jamail is one fine example of a great trial lawyer -- whose enormous success almost speaks for itself. I for one am quite willing to overlook any personal flaws or quirks among such great colleagues, in favor of learning the wisdom of their experience and trememdous success.



2. I received this book (a signed copy) free from my law school upon graduation (within a year of publication). I suppose Joe had a few thousand lying around that he couldn't sell. I keep it in the bathroom in case my wife forgets to refill the toilet paper.
   
   All kidding aside, it's amusing and anecdotal, but he's largely full of himself, as would be expected from a billionaire lawyer's autobiography.



3. Law students who have just taken a course in professional repsonsibility may characterize Joe Jamail as a bad man, as unscrupulouas, as a jerk. That is probably true. But, argumentum ad hominem. Just because the man is bad, his work may not be. The facts are that Jamail is one of the most successful American lawyers of all time; that he fights a tremendous fight for his clients. Read this book for what it is, an account of an outstanding lawyer and his interesting cases; not as an intro to legal ethics.



4. Mr. Jamail's book is terrific. Yes he's a little full of himself but his results are real and he has accomplished a lot in his legal career. He's also had a few major financial scores that have put him in a very unique class of lawyer. This is a fun book with many stories about individual cases that made an impression on Joe and thus inspired him to fight for his client.



5. I found Joe's book entertaining and easy to read. His passion for his clients and job is a trait not held by most in the law profession.

No comments about Building the Rule of Law: Francis Nyalai and the Road to Judicial Independence in Africa.