A candid indictment of the American criminal justice system from the acclaimed author of Which Side Are You On? In previous books, including the widely praised labor history Which Side Are You On?, attorney Thomas Geoghegan has written with an insight and sensibility that enable him to use the smallest details of life as microcosms of larger truths. In In America's Court, Geoghegan's personal account of his experience with criminal law, he directs this sensibility toward a re-evaluation of his own career as a civil lawyer and a critique of the criminal justice system. When asked by a friend and public defender to assist with the defense in a criminal case, Geoghegan realizes that his twenty years as a prominent labor lawyer in civil court—where most arguments are made for quick settlement in the judge's quarters—have left him totally unprepared for the realities of criminal justice in the United States. Particularly when the case at hand is the defense of a twenty-two-year-old who, at the age of fifteen, was sentenced to forty years in prison for acting as the unarmed lookout in a botched burglary attempt. Suddenly Geoghegan must face the whims of jury selection, prosecutorial advantage, and the simple fact that the course of their client's life will be determined by the case. In America's Court is a candid indictment of a criminal justice system that, by routinely imprisoning minors, violates what the rest of the world considers to be all of our basic human rights. In addition, In America's Court is a call to lawyers to act with courage despite the frustrations of the profession. Geoghegan argues that there remain aspects of the law that are heroic and unbroken, and that, rather than civil or criminal law, the law of human rights should be supreme. Written in a uniquely ironic and personal style, In America's Court is a fascinating narrative of justice denied.
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From Publishers Weekly
Geoghegan, a civil litigator specializing in employment cases, wangled an invitation from a public defender to help represent a young man named Rolando, accused of felony murder. About half of the resulting book tells the story of Rolando's trial. The accused was 15 years old when he took part in the robbery of a bar in which a bar patron was shot to death. His first trial resulted in a conviction that was later reversed on appeal. Now, seven years later and with Geoghegan assisting in the defense, the retrial begins. The author captures the bewilderment of a neophyte caught up in the arcane rituals of criminal procedure, from the obscure instincts guiding jury selection, to sweating out the jury's deliberations, to the exhilaration of the ultimate acquittal. Blended in with the author's account of the trial are a score or so of short riffs on politics and law. One of Geoghegan's persistent themes is the upsurge in inequality he sees in American society and in the law, illustrated by the nation's insistence on imposing adult penalties on child offenders. The author considers why a recent college graduate would decide on law school, and wonders whether he would follow that path if he were starting over. Likely he would choose the law again, he decides, even though it would be with profound reservations, because Geoghegan has not entirely lost faith in the liberal values he absorbed early on as a law student at Harvard. His book portrays well the anxiety and defiance of a believer in expanded human rights practicing law in a conservative age.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Chicago labor attorney Geoghegan (Which Side Are You On?), who has long experience as a civil lawyer, here describes participating in a criminal trial after arranging to assist in the defense of a young man accused of committing a felony murder. As the trial proceeds, he talks about his work as a civil lawyer, what it means to be a lawyer, and the issues lawyers face. Interesting, detailed, descriptive, and sometimes amusing, his observations center around the case at hand, in which the defendant was being retried after having been convicted in adult court at age 15 and sentenced to a long term in adult prison. But while he brings up substantive issues, such as the use of courts to assure justice and social change, much of the text is a chatty, meandering discussion. Geoghegan's purpose seems to be to inspire and enlighten lawyers, law students, and the general public, and in this he only partly succeeds. For larger public libraries and law libraries. Mary Jane Brustman, SUNY at Albany Libs.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Inside look at the justice system,
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This review is from: In America's Court: How a Civil Lawyer Who Likes to Settle Stumbled into a Criminal Trial (Paperback)
Thomas Geoghegan has done a remarkable job showing both the triumphs and frustrations of a working case in the criminal justice system. The reader follows an appeal of a young man convicted in conspiracy during a robbery that had turned into murder. Geoghegan sits as the second chair (the support attorney) during the appeal. Geoghegan does a wonderful job of explaining that the convicts can actually be nice people and have remorse for their actions. The convicted shooter actually tries to help the young man during appeal by testifying for him, although he has nothing to gain. The reader learns that Geoghegan is surprised to find that the shooter is actually nice and well spoken. The reader follows through the appeal process and learns the law is very different depending what type the lawyer practices. Criminal is much different from civil in which Geoghegan practices. This book is split into two sections. The first part is the appeal and the second part is Geoghegan's views of what is wrong with the justice system and the legal profession in general. He provides a very liberal view on the death penalty, abortion, and against Republican views. He makes no bones about where his leanings are and this is actually a fresh perspective. He shows that attorneys are human with normal views of right and wrong. He openly wonders about the shortcomings of the system and if anything can be done about this. This book is an absolute must read and is very highly recomended.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read before your LSAT,
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This review is from: In America's Court: How a Civil Lawyer Who Likes to Settle Stumbled into a Criminal Trial (Hardcover)
I read this book from the not-so-disinterested perspective of a lawyer who applied to law school late in life (well, 32) and who is about to start his professional life. I was blown away. I strongly urge anyone considering law school to pick up this book. It's an effortless read because of Geoghegan's style -- it feels like you're listening to an audio tape -- and it's worth the money. The book is divided into two parts: The first (which seems to be the one that most readers and reviewers have focused on) recalls Geoghegan's experience assisting in a criminal case. The second is far more interesting: Geoghegan's thoughts on his life as a lawyer, on new sources of law, on the work lawyers do, on the problems facing the profession and on the potential of law as an agent of change. Because he readily admits his failings and his naivete in the first part, I trusted Geoghegan when he expounded on subjects in which he is well-versed -- in the second part. I won't distill the section's essence, but I will say that Geoghegan's invocation of a particular area of law as holding promise for social change definitely got me thinking about the direction my legal career would take. He also provides helpful warnings about life as a corporate lawyer. So, this is one of those life-changing books for me. Years ago, I read "Which Side Are You On?" At the time I was a reporter, and I felt more than a little smug about my ability to "make a difference." (That book, also highly recommended, is about Geoghegan's struggles as a labor lawyer.) I eventually enrolled in law school. Geoghegan's book is a great (and, for me, timely) reality-check of the expectations I can hope to fulfil in the law profession.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome to the criminal justice system,
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This review is from: In America's Court: How a Civil Lawyer Who Likes to Settle Stumbled into a Criminal Trial (Hardcover)
Everyone who believes that criminal defendants have a presumption of innocence when standing trial should read this book. Geoghegan is a talented writer who pulls the reader in with telling details. Geoghegan begins this brisk exploration of the criminal justice system telling us that as a civil attorney who handles complex litigation nearly all suits slowly move towards settlement instead of trial. After 20 years of mostly settling cases he sits as second chair to an experienced criminal defense attorney in a retrial. The first problem he encounters is locating the state criminal courts building in his hometown of Chicago because he's never been there. The fast pace of the book matches the fast action of the criminal justice system once court is in session. It features well drawn portraits of all the players. You should also ckeck out his first book about being a labor lawyer for small unions, "Which Side Are You On? Trying to Be for Labor When It's Flat on Its Back." Though written 10 years ago, it's still in print; and still pertinent.
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