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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Chicago-based journalist Bogira's first book is an outstanding journey inside the American criminal justice system that nicely complements last year's Blue Blood, Edward Conlon's inside look at the life of a big-city cop. Like that instant classic, this book—centered on the Cook County Criminal Courthouse, "the biggest and busiest felony courthouse in the nation"—punctures the popular myths engendered by TV shows like Law and Order to provide a balanced view of the realities of the day-to-day, assembly-line grind that marks so much of the process from arrest to final disposition. The author's ability to gain the trust of so many different participants in the grim drama—judges, public defenders, prosecutors, court officers, prison guards and many defendants—is remarkable, and he often comes close to presenting a more complete picture of the truth of a particular crime than emerge in court in the or in the few cases that actually go to trial. Despite this access, Bogira does not gild the people he describes; even Judge Daniel Locallo, the book's central figure—whose courtroom witnesses racial violence, pathetic thievery, the abused and the mentally incompetent, and who, on balance emerges positively—is portrayed warts and all. The brilliance of Bogira's insights will lead many to hope that he will follow this debut with proposals to cure the many ills he has diagnosed.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-The grim reality of the urban criminal justice process hits readers with a wallop as they are welcomed as prisoners to Chicago's Cook County Criminal Courthouse, the biggest and busiest felony courthouse in the U.S. From the harsh and dehumanizing treatment of prisoners, they move to Courtroom 302, presided over by Judge Dan Locallo. Through the perspectives of the defendants and their families, the prosecutor and the defense attorney, guards, deputies, juries, and court personnel, Bogira provides an engrossing look at the human drama of the cases, including the racially motivated beating of a 13-year-old black boy by the white teenage son of a family believed to be Mafia-connected. The horrific injustice of the flawed system cries out from almost every page, even as honorable and intelligent, yet all too human court officers work diligently within it. The author provides the historical background and rationale for the plea bargaining, the unintended consequences of "drug courts" resulting in more arrests for criminals holding small amounts of drugs, and the pressures, political and administrative, that judges standing for retention election face. He reveals how these factors actually impact the accused, the victims, and their families. This is a riveting wake-up call for stude
Starred Review. Chicago-based journalist Bogira's first book is an outstanding journey inside the American criminal justice system that nicely complements last year's Blue Blood, Edward Conlon's inside look at the life of a big-city cop. Like that instant classic, this book—centered on the Cook County Criminal Courthouse, "the biggest and busiest felony courthouse in the nation"—punctures the popular myths engendered by TV shows like Law and Order to provide a balanced view of the realities of the day-to-day, assembly-line grind that marks so much of the process from arrest to final disposition. The author's ability to gain the trust of so many different participants in the grim drama—judges, public defenders, prosecutors, court officers, prison guards and many defendants—is remarkable, and he often comes close to presenting a more complete picture of the truth of a particular crime than emerge in court in the or in the few cases that actually go to trial. Despite this access, Bogira does not gild the people he describes; even Judge Daniel Locallo, the book's central figure—whose courtroom witnesses racial violence, pathetic thievery, the abused and the mentally incompetent, and who, on balance emerges positively—is portrayed warts and all. The brilliance of Bogira's insights will lead many to hope that he will follow this debut with proposals to cure the many ills he has diagnosed.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-The grim reality of the urban criminal justice process hits readers with a wallop as they are welcomed as prisoners to Chicago's Cook County Criminal Courthouse, the biggest and busiest felony courthouse in the U.S. From the harsh and dehumanizing treatment of prisoners, they move to Courtroom 302, presided over by Judge Dan Locallo. Through the perspectives of the defendants and their families, the prosecutor and the defense attorney, guards, deputies, juries, and court personnel, Bogira provides an engrossing look at the human drama of the cases, including the racially motivated beating of a 13-year-old black boy by the white teenage son of a family believed to be Mafia-connected. The horrific injustice of the flawed system cries out from almost every page, even as honorable and intelligent, yet all too human court officers work diligently within it. The author provides the historical background and rationale for the plea bargaining, the unintended consequences of "drug courts" resulting in more arrests for criminals holding small amounts of drugs, and the pressures, political and administrative, that judges standing for retention election face. He reveals how these factors actually impact the accused, the victims, and their families. This is a riveting wake-up call for stude