Customer Reviews

Courtroom 302: A Year Behind the Scenes in an American Criminal Courthouse

5 star:		(18)
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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was only slightly aware of the courthouse on 26th St. in Chicago from the occasional anecdotes of people called for jury duty there, but now the place has been seared into my consciousness. I'm rooting for this book to become, at least, a regional hit in the Chicago area, but its insights into the flaws of our judicial system earn it a spot on nightstands throughout the U.S.

What a great choice this would be for book clubs. There's so much to discuss: the problems crying out for reform (drug laws, grand juries, racism, retention system, etc.), as well as the stories Bogira tells about the individuals who pass through the system, a few in the glare of intense media scrutiny, most barely noticed even by the system itself. Then there's the Bridgeport case, a hate crime that rocked Chicago and for a time drew the watchful eye of the world. (There are some stunners to this story in the last chapters.)

Ironically, Bogira, the detached journalist, seems to do a better job of getting to the bottom of these cases than the teams of dozens of police detectives, lawyers and judges--probably because he had the luxury of focusing on a few individuals, while the overcrowded conveyer belt of 26th Street strains to keep the crowds moving. He triumphs in humanizing the whole lot, from the penny-ante defendants (mostly addicts) to the savage murderers. His portrait of the presiding judge has the complexity of accomplished fiction. Bogira seems to be everywhere in the courtroom at once: sitting with the defendants and the lawyers, schmoozing with the courtroom deputies who've seen it all, talking with the judge in his chambers and sitting with the accused's mother in the back. The author has a satisfying knack for suggesting what really happened in each case after narrating the court's conclusions, and the contrast between the two is fascinating.

Thanks to Court T.V. and T.V. dramas, most Americans think of courtrooms as spacious, well-lit venues where prosecutors and defense attorneys vie for the attention of a thoughtful, attentive jury. But most lawyers aren't Johnnie Cochrans, many jurors are eager to get back to their regular lives, and the vast majority of cases never even go to trial. "Courtroom 302" looks beyond the made-for-T.V. ideal at one of the dingy, cramped, hectic rooms where justice is often imperfectly meted out.

In writing this book, Steve Bogira spent the bulk of 1998 covering this courtroom and its dramatis personae: a firm-but-fair judge, two somewhat jaded deputies, a large ensemble cast of overworked public defenders and diligent prosecutors, and a rotating cast of defendants and jurors. He does an admirable job of reporting on them, of getting them to let their guard down and discuss their thoughts, feelings and motivations honestly and openly. The result is a well-rounded and compelling book that shows the true face of American justice at the turn of the Millennium.

Bogira emphasizes the sheer volume of crime and punishment in the court he covers. Cook County boasts the nation's largest integrated court system, and the number of defendants who pass through the system is staggering: 78,000 defendants per year. (On average, every courtroom handles three per day!) And throughout the book's descriptions of dramatic and memorable trials--a prison shanking, a cabbie shot by someone who might have been a jilted lover, a coke deal gone bad, a vicious race beating--the steady drip-drip-drip of plea bargains and bench trials reminds readers that the courtroom can be as dry and routine as any other workplace.

There are flaws with the book. Like many journalists, Bogira buys many of the standard arguments about the costliness of the war on drugs, and he also perhaps overemphasizes the importance of race and poverty (and underemphasizes the role of alcoholism and drug abuse) in contributing to crime. Also, he spends an inordinate amount of time on a high-profile but atypical race beating, while giving more run-of-the-mill cases relatively short shrift. But his excellent reporting more than makes up for his willingness to buy in to the mantras of his profession. The sheer scale of corruption that has gone on in Cook County cortrooms and police interrogation rooms will boggle the mind of many a reader, as will the less-than-ideal processes by which Cook County selects criminal judges; Bogira lays it all out dispassionately and makes a convincing case for much-needed reforms. By reporting meticulously and honestly, by interviewing as many people as possible for as long as possible, and by paying attention to the details, he's put together a great and definitive book. And that ends up being a colossal irony--in the end, "Courtroom 302"'s version of the truth feels fuller and more complete than that arrived at in many of the trials in Courtroom 302.

This is a must read for anyone interested in how the American system of criminal justice really works (or, more precisely, doesn't work much at all). The author focuses on a particular courtroom in the Cook County Criminal Court building in Chicago, but the insights gained and lessons learned from this close look are applicable to any courtroom in America.

Bogira is insightful into the real workings of the system, and he tries to be fair to all participants. And though he refrains from preaching, the truth cannot be hidden: Our criminal justice system is a bureaucratic machine that grinds the poor (and the colored) into its wheels and churns out prisoners and wasted lives, with little or no sense or reason. And all this despite the best efforts of honest and decent men and women.

Even better -- Bogira's a wonderful writer and a great story teller. The writing is fluid and always insightful. The numerous characters -- the Judge, the assorted prosecutors and defense lawyers, and, of course, the defendants -- are brought to life by his writing. Despite its bulk, the book reads like any well-written story should: Quickly, and hard to put down. I recommend it highly.

The author does a remarkable job of drawing you in to the mechanics of a court in the 'real world'. It is true that the writer has a liberal viewpoint but this does not dampen the impact of the direct quotes he uses. The writing is thoroughly engaging and the 'story' kept me interested. Being from Chicago I understood the racism and corruption inherent in the system so I may have read it with more ease than others. It is an unflinching look at a system that tries to work and would be valuable reading for anyone interested in the field of criminal law.

A must read for anyone remotely connected to or interested in the criminal justice system. It is at once informative and depressing. What makes it so valuable is that you get the back story of each participant (judge, DA, PD and defendent). The reality of a system that treats defendents with disdain and offers justice for a price should open a few eyes. I made it required reading this summer for my students doing internships in the court system.

"Courtroom 302" is the story of one year in one courtroom in Chicago's Cook County Criminal Courthouse - the busiest felony courthouse in the country. It provides parallel perspectives from the judge, defendants, prosecutors, public defenders, and support personnel throughout this time period. Cases ranged from failure to complete community service assignments to double murders.

Clearly Bogira has his biases in this book - way too much focus on minor drug crimes (37 of 43 in one night's processing), the system's bias favoring those with private lawyers instead of overburdened public defenders, the system's bias against blacks, the vulnerability of defendants to abusive police, and the hard life of those born with mental/psychological problems and/or home abuse. However, that does not prevent him from being at least reasonably objective throughout. I was also quite impressed with how hard Judge Locallo, assigned to #302, worked, and how vulnerable judges subject to retention votes could be to political pressure when those with political clout are involved.

Interesting statistics were sprinkled throughout the book. For example, about 75% of those brought to the felony court were convicted, and of those just over one half sentenced to prison - the rest mostly received probation. About 80% of the guilty please come from plea-bargains, generally associated with lighter sentences than likely otherwise.

Summarizing, "Courtroom 302" was difficult to put down, and well worth reading.

Bogira has his biases and they are imbedded within the narrative, sometimes to the detriment of the story. However, the stories are so compelling (at least to anyone with an interest in the subjecet matter) that the book does not really suffer. Plus, by focusing on at least a dozen different cases, the action moves too quickly to get bogged down in preaching and a fairly accurate picture of the system shines through in technicolor.

Full disclosure...I clerked at 26th and Cal in law school working on the State's Attorney side. I agree that criticism of the office is warranted (an insular culture does exist) and that personal career aspirations motivate more prosecutors to wake up every morning than a true belief that the system works.

The idea of the system as a "growth industry" hits a perfect tragicomic note. As long as drugs are illegal and ghettos exist within the city, the "demand" which creates the industry will keep many of the sons and daughters of Chicago's insular and politically adept south side gainfully employed. Meanwhile the ghetto kids of the south and west sides have a higher wall to climb. The thing about this "industry" is that the public officials who pass our laws are the masters of this "business" in ways they can't master any other market. It won't ever change until the public elects officials who campaign on the issue of rehauling the system. The book seems to suggest this but the tone is much more journalistic instead of solution-oriented.

There are tough questions to deal with here, so I'm not inclined to follow the biases of some people who have posted on this book or perhaps Bogira himself that the system can be written off as an "injustice" or that we should all just up and legalize drugs tommorow and fund a bunch of afterschool programs. This book does not leave the courthouse much, so there isn't a whole lot of reporting from the front lines of these ghettos where the violence and drug markets exist.

Further, the book tends to delight in reporting any racially-charged remarks made by the state's attorneys, the judges and the deputies. Obviously this will cause all the righteous suburbanites in California, New York, the North Shore or wherever to get all worked up about the racist system of whites oppressing blacks. Hopefully, that won't be the only thing people get out of this book. The truth is that the men and women who work there and the men and women who walk the halls as defendants or family members of the defendants are on the frontlines of the American race problem and probably have a much more comprehensive understanding of race in this country than anyone who's going to lament the injustice of all the racists and then move on to the next book their book club will read. Also, what people don't get from this book is that most of the racial joshing that goes on at 26th and Cal is done to people's faces- it's a white guy to a black guy, or a Hispanic guy to a white woman, or sometimes even a judge to a defendant- some people see this as abhorent, personally I see it as realistic and honest. This is America and the race problem is real...at least to those of us who live in a diverse community.

Anyways, I applaud and recommend the book for jumping into the criminal justice system, compiling the stories and presenting a fairly accurate portrayal of life in the system. I'm sorry if my antennae is always up when it comes to racial hypocrisy.

I found this book to be a good book to read but it also made me realize more than ever how unjust our justice system can be. The author portrays the people involved in the criminal justice system as being so mechanical at their jobs that justice just doesn't seem to enter the picture very often. Sadly the book is probably an accurate account of the Chicago court system, or any other court system in our country, but reading it made me wonder, if all this injustice is so evident to everyone involved, why is it being allowed to continue. These people who have other peoples futures and freedom in their hands seem to just find it easier to follow their routine than to do the right thing and create a criminal justice system that really does protect us and consider everyone innocent until proven guilty. This book definitely reaffirms the sad state that our court systems have become.

If you have interest in the operation of our criminal justice system, in whatever location, this book will plant your feet squarely in reality. It's not polemical in any way. You get to witness the goings on, from the most mundane to the most charged atmospheres.

I began reading with interest but detached. As I progressed through the book I became increasingly involved and awaiting what was to come next. This book is infused with fairness to all and with no agenda of its own. It's a wonderful piece of writing. Also evident is the openness and trusting nature of the author, as shown by the content of the conversations he has with both the accused and the legal professionals.

In addition to the numerous story-lines, the pure information about the court system is very comprehensive. It's not passed along in a teaching manner, just given so as to flesh out the situations that come into play. What a wonderful book.

Warning - this book will definitely get you depressed about the American crimial justice system. Other reviews have elaborated on this book, and I agree with most of their analysis. This book really makes you question how "justice" is carried out in this country. No, I am not a flaming liberal, but a die-hard Republican. If this book can convince me that things need to change, I believe that is a pretty good indicator as to the depth of the problem. There are broader implications of this book - bottom line is that the world, not just the United States, needs to be spending LOT'S more money on education vs. the penal system.