Customer Reviews

Down and Dirty Justice: A Chilling Journey into the Dark World of Crime and the Criminal Courts

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book. While telling a very interesting story, it is also informative about what really goes on in our justice system, behind closed doors. I enjoyed the way the author wove his own personal experiences into his account of the Schilling case. The suspense in the last third of the book, as the Schilling case goes to trial, is spellbinding. Those of us who have been through the bruising world of litigation know that the courts (and the lawyers who litigate cases in them) often disappoint us. The author offers a thoughtful, well balanced critique of the way law is practiced in the trenches, then says on the last page of the book: "The system is seriously flawed. We can, we must, do better." His argument is highly persuasive. We MUST improve our courts and the legal profession, if we want a true system of justice in this country. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in our governmen, how it works, and how it sometimes doesn't work so well.

The technical detail of behind-the-scenes law and order will surprise you: our legal system is not at all what you expect. Miranda's diluted, charging decisions are heavily subjective, the Bill of Rights is bent, lawyers and police don't always know how to work together, and with prosecutorial power on the rise, it's suprising that ANY case makes it to trial. Lowenthal's book offers a compelling story -- as good as fiction and frightening because it's not. Read this book for an eye-opening analysis of the current state of our system of justice.

There are many things to like about this book. First, it grapples with the difficult question of what we mean by "justice" when the battle is not between good and evil, but instead is a dispute with unsavory characters on each side. The victim and the defendant in the Schilling case are both from the "wrong side of the tracks," so to speak, as members of the methamphetamine culture in America. Should this matter, in the way they are treated in the courts? This provocative question continually played on my mind as I turned the pages. Interestingly, the book also exposes the inadequate training that lawyers too often receive before they handle important cases. This too troubled me as I read this well-written book. Although I am not a lawyer, I found the book to be easy to read and very informative.

Too often, one has to read well into a book before deciding whether it's worth continuing through. In stark contrast, Down & Dirty Justice grabs you from the very first pages of the very first chapter, and you know immediately that this is a book you are not going to want to put down. Nor does the rest of the book disappoint in the least, as it takes you through the modern day criminal justice system. From then on, in many ways, it's like driving by a car accident ... you might not like what's happened on the road, but you absolutely cannot look away. In this case, the legal system is laid out for you, and you cannot look away, as you slow down to take in every detail the author sets out with superb clarity and real power. As one who no longer practices law, I found Down & Dirty Justice to be a wonderful narrative read; as one who used to practice law, I wish I had been privy to its lessons before I retired (a sentiment with which I know too many of my former clients would have agreed). I assume from my search this is Lowenthal's first book. I just hope he has another one in store for us.

Gary T. Lowenthal, a law professor in Arizona, spent his sabbatical as a prosecutor in the Phoenix (Maricopa County) prosecutor's office, the office of County Attorney Rick Romley, who, according to his web site, has held office since 1989. Surprisingly naïve for a law professor who says he has taught criminal law and criminal procedure, Lowenthal tells a tawdry tale of expediency and laziness that permeates that office.

The book is thus a must-read because it exposes a plea-bargaining-based expediency that not only encourages crime by failing to adequately punish and deter criminals, but also extorts guilty pleas from persons who may not be guilty. The excuse is that plea bargaining saves money and resources. There are two main reasons why that is not true: (1) criminals who plea-bargain their way out of prison are free to continue to prey on their communities; and (2) revolving-door "justice" means that the same criminal has to be processed over and over again.

As Lowenthal admits time and time again, however, it is just plain easier to plea-bargain a case with an offer of often unjustified leniency than to try the case and get the justice the defendant, the victim, and society deserves. For most defense lawyers, of course, plea bargaining is the only way they can make a buck-it just doesn't pay for them to spend the time and effort defending their clients in a trial.

Although the book's main focus is a case that Lowenthal did try, the real story he tells is about the lame excuses he and his fellow prosecutors marshal to justify either not charging crimes (including one Lowenthal declined to charge even though the police arrested the defendant red-handed in a stolen truck) or to justify probation for folks whose crimes warrant lengthy prison terms. "Down and Dirty Justice" paints an ugly picture of how justice is bartered in Phoenix. If accurate, Phoenix should get itself a new chief prosecutor.

This book is an entertaining, compelling, and somewhat grim look at American jurispudence today. Down and Dirty Justice is the riveting experiences of an experienced, ivory tower law professor thrust into the realities of today's legal system as a novice prosecutor. Early in the book, the author makes the point that his view of our legal system, though more informed than most, was still heavily colored by television. Like most Americans today, that was how I viewed our legal system, but as the author shows, TV shows such as Law and Order and The Practice, though supposedly true to life, give a far from true picture of the court system.
Mr. Lowenthal focuses on one particular case, an assault/kidnapping case. It is not glamourous; it is not high-profile. It is, however, fascinating. In his erudiate, well-written account, Professor Lowenthal details and highlights the often convulted and somewhat strange route to a kind of justice and resolution, which at times during this book were unlikely.
This book is not only well-written, but Mr. Lowenthal's insights into the legal system of today are deft and knowledgable. It is a book that anybody who has contact - or might have contact - with our legal system should read.

This book provides insight into the way the criminal justice system really works. It's format is like Law and Order's in that it follows a case from the investigation stages to sentencing. It also features a gripping case. But, unlike Law and Order, this is the real thing. Resources and relationships -- between police and prosecutors, prosecutors and defenders, defenders and clients -- are strained. People are overworked and underpaid. Rigid policies and harsh mandatory sentencing laws prevent judges and prosecutors from fashioning punishments that truly fit the crime. Lowenthal has written a compelling, true account of our criminal justice system. I recommend it for those who want to learn more about the criminal justice system or those who just want to read an interesting true crime story.

This is an excellent read and an informative book. I knew our criminal justice system was flawed but I did not realize the breadth of the problems. Though neither the victim nor the defendant is a particularly sympathetic individual, the system abused each of them. Any thoughts I had that justice usually occurs were eliminated. The author writes clearly and intelligently about a bureaucratic, political and often arbitrary legal system.

This book gave me lots of food for thought. I knew very little about the criminal law system or history. After reading Down and Dirty Justice, I have a better sense of the law and why it is there.
The case described was clearly explained and shocking. It is reality. Thank you to the author for a writing style that kept me very interested.

Knowledgeably written by Gary T. Lowenthal (a law professor who dared to venture from the ivory towers and work for the Arizona County Attorney's Office), Down And Dirty Justice: A Chilling Journey Into The Dark World Of Crime And The Criminal Courts is an all-too-real presentation of an American judicial system which is chronically riddled with failures, brutality, the ruthless prosecution of the innocent, and the slap on the wrist to the guilty. Forced to conclude that it is the plea bargaining prosecutors, not the judges nor the juries, that rule the criminal justice system Down And Dirty Justice is a chilling and much needed expose and warning of just how bad the system is now -- before it gets any worse within the context and pressures arising from the current "War on Terrorism" and "Patriot Act" legislation.