Book Description

Reviews (7)

Something Missing!
This book is meant as a polemic against Oliver Wendell Holmes, and in particular, how his skeptical worldview can seen in his decisions.

Here's the thing: I, personally, like Holmes and actually quite admire his skeptical philosophy. So, much of what the author sees as Holmes's faults, I tend to see as his strenghts. The fact that he had no use for ideas of natural law and objective 'right answers;' the fact that he recognized (to my eyes) the reality that social life is an ongoing struggle of interest against interest; his view that rights are not naturally existing, self-evident things, but only have validity through positive law.

There are two reasons I mention the chasm between what the author thought were strikes against Holmes, that I thought were points in Holmes' favor. First, this leads me to conclude that the this book 'preaches to the choir.' It will only convert the converted; if you dislike Holmes and the skeptical turn in law and society, you will like this book. If you admire Holmes and the skeptical turn he helped usher in, you will not be convinced here that you are wrong.

The second reason I bring up the above chasm between mine and the author's take, is taht he really doesn't ARGUE so much as he might do something like simply say: "Holmes was a social darwinist who didn't see a grand purpose to life..." He simply assumes that the reader will addend the sentence with a tacit: "...and those traits are disgusting." There is even a chapter called "Would you have Wanted Holmes for a Friend?" which does exactly this: it points out the traits the author thinks are ugly about Holmes, and ASSUMES without further argument that the reader will concur. "Holmes was detached from having many friendships...[and wouldn't that be just like that sour old man. Hmmph!]" For my part, I wasn't convinced.

The other criticism I have is that the last chapter - which allegedly shows that the skepticism Holmes has ushered in is still with us today - was about as close to a joke as an academic book can produce. The author goes on about teen pregnancy, the rising crime rates, and, yes, even the fact that Americans are runnning deficits. Apparently this all links back to Holmes. To say it bluntly, this chapter seemed so far afield and widely stretched that this nicely written academic book was capped off by a chapter straight out of Pat Robertson's 700 Club. Hmm...

So there you have it: the book is good in that it is well-researched, clearly written and interesting as all get out. It is also one of the few books that really explores Holmes the philosopher as much as Holmes the Justice [see also The Essential Holmes, Posner, Richard (Ed.)] But if you are not a Holmes-hater before you go into this book, you will not be when you come out - and vice versa. For all the author's research and 'expose' of Holmes' personality, philosophy, and methods, he simply ASSUMES what he is supposed to prove: that Holmes is the villian the author says he is, and that these traits are the be-all end-all they are assumed to be.

Books without conclusions
The author might have explored Holmes's skepticism more, but he oddly leaves many questions open that he could have addressed. What values should drive the law? We are left wondering.

Judging the Past
In his own day, Holmes was revered as the greatest, wisest judge in the English-speaking world. Today, however, Holmes' significance is downplayed in law schools across America, or he is trashed as he is in this book. The dramatic decline in Holmes' popularity and influence has resulted from his opinion in a single case, Buck v. Bell (1927), in which Holmes advocated sterilization of "imbeciles." Since the Holocaust, sterilization is understandably unpopular, especially among Jews, who dominate the faculties at America's top law schools and write many widely-used casebooks. Holmes, who wrote his opinion in Buck v. Bell long before the Holocaust, has been lumped into the Nazi camp (the Nazis tried to use Buck v. Bell at Nuernberg to defend their practices) by modern liberals, and many so-called "legal scholars" now dismiss Holmes' ideas without consideration and do not include his opinions in their casebooks. One of the central tenets of historiography is that it is improper to judge historical figures by the moral standards of today. Alschuler violates this principle again and again--excoriating a great mind because of the way its ideas were used by others. Compare this book to THE ESSENTIAL HOLMES, which is both scholarly and readable. It is also written by Judge Posner, an influential modern jurist respected by liberals and conservatives. Do your own reasoning, draw your own conclusions, and be fooled by no one.

Thorough scholarship.
This book is extremely well written, thoroughly researched and possessing the profound perspective of a wise and intelligent writer exercising his science and art with a passion that can be felt just beneath the surface of cool academic analysis. This book is not only of interest to legal historians and philosophers of law, but to any reader wishing to take hold of the main threads which run through the cultural landscape of the modern world.

fascinating and frustrating
Oliver Wendell Holmes is a towering figure in our history, even if, like me, you only learned his name in school and only know he was a supreme court justice, or else he wrote books, didn't he? Or was that his Dad? But it turns out that what Holmes the justice thought is of crucial importance to key legal issues of today. Holmes can be seen as a major pragmatist thinker, and pragmatism can be seen as a major source of our current culture wars. I came across Holmes via Allan Bloom and, oddly, Edmund Wilson. I heard about Holmes' Civil War experiences and how he believed that the law is quote unquote only what men are willing to die for, and I was hooked, and looked around for a book that would best examine Holmes life, thought, and impact, and finally decided on this book by Alschuler. The book is thematic rather than chronological. And I don't think Alschuler argues very well. He tends to write impressionistically, and IMHO he indulges in smear tactics. For example, "Would you want to have Holmes as a friend?" But surely whether Holmes would make a good friend is irrelevant to the character of his thought. But Alschuler also manages to convey some of the wonderful issues at play in this arena for a non-lawyer such as myself. For me the book was like a window into an alien universe that I've actually been living in unknowingly all along. So I forced my way throught it. It's not long, less than 190 pages plus notes. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A stirring portrayal and highly recommended reading
A Song Of Faith And Hope: The Life Of Frankie Muse Freeman is the fascinating memoir of a most remarkable African-American woman, who grew up in the Jim Crow era South and, upset at the injustice that surrounded her every day, became an effective St. Louis civil rights attorney who dedicated her personal and professional life to improving justice and equality for all, and which eventually earned her the distinction of being the first woman to be appointed to the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights. A stirring portrayal and highly recommended reading, A Song Of Faith And Hope is an invaluable contribution to personal and academic Black Studies collections. ... Read more

Book Description

Fred Gray grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, and had to leave the state to finish his education because blacks could not then attend Alabama law schools. He returned to his hometown in 1954 and became one of two black lawyers in the city. He was, he writes, "determined to destroy everything segregated that I could find." He did not have to wait long. When his friend Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 for violating the segregated seating ordinance on a Montgomery bus, 26-year-old Martin Luther King, Jr., was chosen to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and 24-year-old Fred Gray became his—and the movement’s—lawyer. Gray’s legal victory in the federal courts ended the boycott 381 days later. Over the four decades since, Gray has won scores of civil rights cases in education, voting rights, transportation, health, and other areas. He represented the Freedom Riders, the Selma-to-Montgomery marchers, the victims of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, and many more. Bus Ride to Justice is the exciting story of a courageous life in the courtrooms of America and in the pulpits of churches where Fred Gray began as a child preacher and continues today, and of a strong human being filled with love and admiration for his fellow man. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The real McCoy
Fred Gray isn't just a Civil Rights Lawyer, he's THE Civil Rights lawyer. This man represented Rosa Parks in the Bus Boycott, MLK Jr in the Selma March, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, and desegregation lawsuits for Alabama public schools. In a world where the word 'lawyer' holds a negative connotation, Fred Gray's story is about what a lawyer ought to be doing. This isn't the movie of the week, it's the real thing by the man who did it. ... Read more

Book Description

In this book the author describes the battles--both inside and outside the courtroom--that have made him one of the world's most courageous defenders of personal freedoms. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Essential reading for young lawyers and law students
As I read this book, I found myself saying "this is why I went to law school" again and again. As an example of what someone can do with a law degree and a conscience, no one surpasses Michael Tigar. Young lawyers should read this for inspiration. Law students should read this to remind themselves why sitting through four hours of Contracts or Evidence or Federal Courts matters. Activists should read this to relish the victories and learn new approaches. Anyone who has ever watched The Practice or Law & Order should read this to understand what criminal defense lawyers really do.

Fighting the good fight
A vivid and engaging glimpse into the highstakes game of constitutional law. What's at issue is whether there will be any control at all over police and prosecutors in the USA. The cases and issues frame the world we in the USA will all have to live in, and it would be a far better one were Tigar's side to win. In the voice of an experienced (and winning) storyteller, Tigar takes the reader through the strategies, gambles and often humorous surprises of his stellar career of high profile cases. I'm a musician, not a lawyer (though I know some of the people Tigar mentions), and was never at a loss due to technical language left unexplained. A great book. ... Read more

Book Description

I Rest My Case is a fascinating and profoundly moving memoir that chronicles the life of J. Stanley Shaw from his childhood years under the supervision of the Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum in the 1930s to his career as one of the preeminent bankruptcy attorneys in the United States. Shaw's colorful and often poignant reminiscences take us from Depression-era Brooklyn, through his years at Columbia University and New York Law School, his early setbacks at the hands of an unscrupulous real estate developer who left him one million dollars in debt, the political education he received as a leader of the New York Liberal Party during the 1960s and 1970s, and his groundbreaking legal work in corporate bankruptcy. The pages of I Rest My Case are filled with fascinating characters-some famous and some obscure, but always memorable. Shaw was a candidate for mayor of New York, and his political career brought him into contact with a diverse range of luminaries from Nelson Rockefeller to Al D'Amato, and from George McGovern to George Pataki. Shaw has turned a wry and thoughtful eye on his life, filling the pages of his memoir with trenchant observations about the human condition. A brisk narrative set against a rich backdrop of American cultural and legal history, I Rest My Case is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the redemptive power of love. All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the Association for Adults and Children With Learning Disabilities (ACLD), a not-for-profit organization that assists more than 2,500 infants, children and their families. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

GUARDIANSHIP-GOOD OR BAD...SHAW,LICITRA,ESERNIO
In 1994, Mike DeLano, my best friend of more than 50 years, suffered a minor stroke.This excuse was used to declare Mike "incapacitated" when his immediate family began to fight over Mike's assets.George Esernio of Shaw, Licitra, Esernio, Schwartz & Bohner, along with Mike's wife Kathryn, were "appointed" as co-guardians of Mike's estate by Judge Frank S Rossetti, who himself is "appointed" by Governor Pataki, a staunch political supporter and personal friend of Stanley Shaw and his firm. A coincidence, I don't think so.

Co-guardians George Esernio and Kathryn DeLano, Mike's wife, after stealing everything they could before legally marshalling over four-million dollars in tax-free municipal bonds. You know, the kind you just need to clip the coupons on for the rest of your life and, would net a person nearly 2-3 hundred thousand dollars a year in income. Well, they began by spending eight-hundred thousand in their first year causing bonds to be cashed in, thereby not only reducing principal, but the interest that Mike's bank accounts should receive in income.Throughout the next ten-years, despite objections the entire time from Mike's eldest son Franklin, the excessive spending continued until Mike's money was nearly all gone.Sadly but much richer, Mike's wife and her co-guardian attorney George Esernio, who now needed a big influx of cash to keep the excessive fees and other expenses being paid, not very surprisingly, decided to sell Mike's buildings and land in Queens that he and Franklin had built with their own hands over a period of forty years. Whew, another couple of million of Mike's money to spend on themselves for a few more years before they need to sell the next building. Oh, did I forget to mention that those buildings that Mike built contained other businesses' that Mike owned that were also adding income to Mike's estate for fifty-years.Too bad his wife Kathryn and George Esernio, who charged more in fees than Mike himself ever took in salary, went bust from "mis-management".

So it would appear that Mr. Shaw and his firm are not Saints or knights in shining armor but instead, a bunch of crooks. At least in this example. Want to know more, call Franklin of the NBGAG (National Bad Guardianship Advocacy Group)at (406) 825-5040 or (406)628-4862 or go look up Index No. 24309-I-93 in the Nassau County Courthouse located at 240 Old Country Rd. in Mineola, NY. and be ready for the guardianship shock of your life!

SUCH A CROOK
I have personally witnessed Shaw's law firm in action. They suck. I saw one instance where they took millions of dollars from my childhood friend and charged hundreds of thousands in legal fees for simply clipping coupons and for instigating problems of an already dysfunctional family.

PLEASE!Say it ain't so...
Is this the same Shaw that has a law firm on Long Island known as Shaw, Licitra, Esernio, Bohner & Schwartz?The one that receives so much praise, patronage and rewards from the heirarchy of people in power? If you need a lawyer or firm with influence and crooked political connections, this one is among the top ten.

LIARS & CHEATS
This book is supposed to chronicle Shaw's career as a legacy to his family. Some career. Him and his law firm through his partner George Esernio, receive patronage appointments nowadays from people like judge Frank S Rossetti who was appointed not elected by Gov. Pataki so that they could steal millions in fees from the elderly and infirmed while the families of those elderly people go starving.

HEARTWRENCHING RAGS TO RICHES STORY:
I should have given this book five stars. Five for the amount of B.S. it contains.It never ceases to amaze me that in our modern society, the narcissistic people who are politically and socially corrupt, are hailed by themselves as hero's.Shaw confesses to having deceived his family for many years before finally writing his "legacy".What would make the reader now suddenly believe an admitted liar? I get the impression Shaw is still a "Schmuck" with a fountain pen".Only these days, he and his law firm steal more with those pens than an army of gangsters with guns. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Insightful, but Biased Look at the Justice System
This book gives a very interesting inside look into the world of criminal defense attorneys. The author gives her unique perspective on the law through stories of several cases she defended. While I found the book very interesting, especially her explanation of the Menendez case, I couldn't help thinking that she was giving only one side of the story and leaving out facts that didn't support her views of defendant's rights. Still, it was very enthralling and hard to put down.

Dull But Intelligent
I have always liked the way that Leslie Abramson handles herself as well as being a fairly big fan of her courtroom practices. So, I went into this book with some preconceived biases. Well, they were all proven wrong.

Abramson is an extremely intelligent woman, and an excellent attorney, but her writing, as well as that of Richard Flaste, is quite dry and rather boring. She has some nice stories to tell, but the manner in which she delivers them is undeniably dull.

The book clearly had no cogent flow to it whatsoever. The book was somewhat hard to get through, but I read on, hoping it lead to something better. But, it truly didn't.

I gave the book two stars simply because the information on the cases, and the behind the scenes stuff was pretty interesting. Unfortunately, that is all this book really has to offer you.

State the facts please!
I have to question the factuality of the stories written in this book. My family is the subject of one of the stories Leslie chose to discuss in detail within her book. I have to say I was shocked and infuriated to find my family story, including names and a picture sent to Leslie in a Christmas card, printed without our consent or knowledge. After the initial shock I sat down to read the book and was again outraged at the many erroneous facts intertwined in our brief story. I have to wonder if she even looked at our file or if she just tried to pull from memory and/or embelish this brief condensed story of our life. I do not know all the laws governing what you can or can't print in an autobiography, but I would think that if you were writing about other people's lives, you should have to state the facts and be able to substantiate those facts with documentation. I know that the 6 pages of this book dedicated to my life story has so many fabricated and outright false statements, it is impossible for me to read any of the other stories with any degree of faith that what I am reading is the Real story! I would recommend that anyone who reads this book takes it for what it is, an autobiography about Leslie Abramson. Do not read it to understand the subjects of her cases or what the Real facts behind their cases were.

Enough with the ghostwriting
Perhaps I'm being anachronistic, but I don't think an autobiography should be written by anyone other than the subject him or herself. If the person doesn't feel up to the job, he should have an authorized biography published with a vignette explaining his involvement in the project. Whatever her reasons, Ms. Abramson's decision to employ Richard Flaste was a big mistake. If she was too lazy to write this book herself, she should have at least taken the time to find a competent writer. Reading this book is like trying to drive across a treacherous bog in a Ferrari. You hope there's something good on the other side but the journey is so needlessly frustrating and unpleasant, you aren't sure if it's worth it. Let me save you some trouble. Even if you had a Range Rover, this journey wouldn't be worth it. My conclusion: for someone who is so assertive and logical in her public speaking, Ms. Abramson has published a very disappointing autobiography

Leslie rules
If you ever thought there was more to certain cases than what you saw on tv, irregardless of whether you agree with Abramson's conclusions or not, you owe it to your sense of humanity or cynicism to read this boo ... Read more

Book Description

From their drafting of the Declaration of Independence to their current prominent role in U.S. politics, America’s lawyers have always been preeminent in our national life. Although novelists and screenwriters remain fascinated with the roles that lawyers play in courtroom drama, the lives of those who practice as members of the bar are more fascinating than any fiction. This massive reference examines the lives and cases of 100 notable American lawyers who have distinguished themselves in the courtroom from colonial times to the present. ... Read more

Book Description

"I picked up Indomitable Sarah and couldn't put it down. It's terrific. Sarah T. Hughes deserved a special book to be writtenabout her and Darwin Payne has captured her drive, her smarts-her being, in a page-turning way that her page-turning life demanded."-Jim Lehrer

"If you want to know how awesome Sarah T. Hughes was, she passed a state income tax through the Texas House of Representatives in1932, something no one has done before or since. Darwin Payne gives us a full account of her decades-long struggles against racism, sexism, poverty and injustice. We are lucky to have this splendid account of one of Texas's greatest freedom fighters."-Molly Ivins

Judge Sarah T. Hughes is best remembered as the woman who swore in Lyndon Johnson as president aboard Air Force One on November 22, 1963, after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. But long before then, she had been making headlines as the foremost woman Democrat in Texas. She was a legislator, judge, political leader, and feminist who devoted her life to liberal causes. As a federal judge she presided over the three-judge panel that overturned Texas's abortion laws in a decision upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade, a decision that has rocked American society and politics to this day. Indomitable Sarah is an energetic, well-researched biography that shows the many dimensions of this important figure in Texas' history as well as the nation's.

"A terrific saga of an extraordinary woman and of an era in Texas politics that no longer exists. Sarah T. Hughes would have been the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court had she been ten years younger."-Congressman Martin Frost ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Good story, even if somewhat self-serving
Bobby Simone was always a guy we in the press liked. As a newspaper reporter in Philadelphia in the 70s and later in New Jersey in the 80s and 90s, I frequently read about and heard about , and a few times actually met Bobby Simone. I covered the trial in Federal Court where he unsuccessfully defended Nicodemo Scarfo and I watched Bobby Simone successfully defend himself against income tax charges.(forget that old saw that a lawyer who defends himself has a fool for a client, Bobby won this case).
Bobby was always friendly to reporters -- after all, we were his free advertising agency -- and he was always quotable. He was also always a strong advocate for his clients. But apparently he crossed the line between advocacy and participation once too often when the feds brought him down.
But to hear him tell it, the feds went after him not because he broke the law, but because he represented unpopular clients. Yeah, right.
I also heard Bobby Simone tell juries that the government was arresting guys like Nicky Scarfo only because the government was exercising some kind of prejudice against Italian-Americans. He actually used to say that to juries! I was there, I heard it. (Forget that many FBI case agents in the Organized Crime squads were Italian-Americans, many the best police officers who hated the mob had Italian names, and one of the most effective Assistant US Attorneys to prosecute the Scarfo case was himself an Italian-American who was very proud of his heritage.)
The book isn't much better. Some of it is self-serving claptrap. But if you can put that aside, it is the story by an entertaining story teller talking about an exciting career. And besides, Bobby Simone is a nice guy, most people who meet him like him, and that comes through in the book, too.

A book you can't put down and a story you won't forget!
This was a really great account about the life and times of "mob lawyer" Robert Simone. The author does not pretend that the account is objective, and indeed it is not. It is, however, exciting and intriguing to follow Robert Simone's story - from the beginning of his career to the height of his success and through his ultimate downfall, incarceration and back to Philly and a career in law once again. I could not tear myself away from this book.

Is this guy for real?
Mr Simone keeps telling the readers how wonderful and friendly Nicky Scarfo and Phil Leonetti are. He just seems to forget that
they are responsible for the deaths of many people. Of course they are entitled to the very best defense, but mr Simone seems
to think that these guys were treated unfairly by the government
and the judicial system. Furthermore, mr Simone contemptously describes Joseph Salerno as a no good rat, but forgets that his best buddy Phil Leonetti turned out to be just as despicable, even worse. So much for mob loyalty.
I suggest that readers familiarize themselves with the book "Breaking the Mob" by Guinther and Friel to get a different view of many of the same incidents. I`m not claiming it to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but at least it gives you a good comparative read.
Otherwise "The Last Mouthpiece" makes quite enjoyable reading.

A Lawyer who knows the meaning of Friendship
Mr.Bob Simone tells his life story in great detail.The ups and downs of someone who believes in the rights of his clients.And will do everything legally in his power to help them.He tell how the government hates to lose and dose everything legal or not to get even.He knows the meaning of true friendship and payed the price for it!

A candid revelation of mobsters
Robert "Bobby" Simone draws upon a 35 year career as a practicing criminal defense attorney to write a unique, informative, and at times alarming expose and anecdotal description of the criminal justice system in The Last Mouthpiece. This book reads more like a film noir script than a history of the law as we encounter "Phil "The Chicken man" Testa, Nick the Blade, Hunchback Harry, and a series of other real-life mob characters and their cadres. Here is a candid revelation of the mobsters, rats, set-ups, wires, bugs, double-crosses, strategies, judges, juries, and lawmen who were the daily elements of Simone's law practice. If you enjoy the fictional "The Sopranos" television series, then you will be fascinated by Bobby Simone's factual and real-life expose, The Last Mouthpiece. ... Read more

Book Description

The hilarious account of the antics that go on in a state prison from the viewpoint of the officers.No imaginative writer could invent the tricks that actually go on in front and behind the officers.Come take a peak inside to learn how the inmate mind works and is usually one step ahead of the men sent to watch him.

Reviews (3)

quick read
This book addresses the dangerous, the legal technicalities, and the "seamy" side of containing prisoners.Yet Mr. Grunska describes this gauntlet with compassion, wit and humor as he tells what the guards and supervisors had to do to calm and solve the comical situations.It's a rapid-read collection of individual incidents!I loved the chapter "High Tech and Us". It reminded me of earlier years when school admimistrators gave us computers, students, and orders for "immediate use effectively."

Loved it!
This book was very entertaining, funny and easy to read.
The chapter about the dancing girls was hilarious and I really identified with the story about the computer mixups.

The Southern Zone by Kip M. Grunska
Each chapter is a funny story in itself. Who ever thought prison life was dull? This author finds the humor in every situation, bizzare as it may be. I especially liked The Dancing Girls Frolic and The Pink Panty Scenario. Who would ever suspect such shinanigans took place in such a setting?

It seems like the inmates are more clever than the guards and spend most of their time outwitting their keepers!

I highly recommend this fast paced, light reading for sheer enjoyment of a little known subject. Treat yourself to some fun. ... Read more

Book Description

This is a major biography of one of America's most influential and respected Supreme Court justices by a leading law scholar.In the late 1970s, Earl Warren's papers were opened and G. Edward White, a former law clerk of Warren, was given complete access to research this book. The result is the first study of the Chief Justice to cover his entire political career and to examine aspects of Warren's character that have seemed paradoxical.White goes back to Warren's roots in California Progressivism to illuminate his mid-century liberalism and the controversial decisions over which he presided in the Supreme Court. Based on a wealth of newly available information and White's understanding of Warren's work and personality, this is a fascinating, original portrait of Chief Justice Earl Warren. ... Read more

Book Description

Law/Current Events

The frightening in-the-trenches story of an attorney's fight to save his client from the death penalty.

In 1976, "Crazy Joe" Spaziano, a member of a widely feared motorcycle gang, was sentenced to death for the murder of Laura Lynn Harberts, whose body was found in a trash dump near Spaziano's trailer. Nine years after his conviction by a Florida jury, a set of audiotapes was discovered in which police hypnotized and coached the primary witness against Spaziano, a witness who later recanted his testimony. Despite this exculpatory evidence, Spaziano's case continued to move steadily toward the electric chair.

The Wrong Man is the dramatic story of Michael Mello's twenty-year-long fight to save Spaziano from being executed for crimes he didn't commit. In a gripping personal account Mello, a well-known author, activist, and legal commentator, describes the in and outs of this case and the extremes to which he was driven by it. In his desperation to halt this miscarriage of justice, Mello broke ethical and procedural rules, faced possible contempt charges and disbarment proceedings, and gave up hope of ever practicing law in Florida again. Among his unconventional measures was to involve the Miami Herald, which eventually published an investigative piece exposing the fundamental unfairness of Spaziano's sentence, an article that was instrumental in turning the tide of public opinion and bringing the case to the attention of the national media.

More than an account of a single, notorious death penalty case, The Wrong Man is an indictment of capital punishment and the criminal justice system-a fascinating first-person narrative about death penalty legal work and a detailed account of how the justice system often fails to deliver justice. Ultimately Mello offers compelling proof of the following sad reality: wrongful convictions can easily occur, and innocent people are sentenced to death and executed in America.

Michael Mello is the author of The United States of America vs. Theodore Kaczynski (1999), Dead Wrong (1997), and Against the Death Penalty (1996). Currently a professor of law at the Vermont Law School, he has worked on several high-profile cases, including those of Ted Bundy, Theodore Kaczynski, and Elizabeth Morgan.

Mike Farrell is a celebrated actor and president of California Death Penalty Focus. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Re: Two more Florida cases: Roy Swafford & Peter Ventura
For those interested in reading the four to three vote Florida Supreme Court opinions regarding two more death sentenced persons whose innocence is an authentic issue, please go to www.flcourts.org, then go to "Opinions and Rules", then chose the correct year and scroll down to the following two cases:

Roy Swafford: April 18, 2002 Case No. 92.173

Peter Ventura: May 24, 2001 Case No. 93.839

These two cases are findable under "Court Orders: Case Disposition Orders" and "Briefs in Other Cases" sections of the "Press Page":

Roy Swafford: March 26, 2004 Case Nos. 03.931 and 03.1153

Sad, sad, sad....and Wrong, wrong, wrong !!!
This book is coming from a positon of proving capital punishment unjust because *innocent* people are wrongly punished. BUT...what if Spaziano is GUILTY ??? Does that then make the authors argument null and void ?

Interestingly enough, I oppose the Death Penalty because of my strong scriptually based spiritual beliefs. But I DO agree with punishment for crimes committed....and Joe Spaziano is as guilty as they come. I met him personally and just prior to his murder of an innocent young girl, when he was still self proclaiming himself as *Crazy Joe*...and justifiably so.

Where are the droves of testimony from the woman, one of my closest friends at the time of the murder, who innocently went for a ride with her then boyfriend Spaziano and his cohort,DiLisio, while never realizing that they were heading for the Florida Seminole County dump to discard of Spaziano's lifeless victim's body ??? Where are the droves of documented commentary from questioning this key eye witness about when parked at the dump that night, Joe Spaziano told his then girlfriend that if she dared to turn around and look at what they were doing...that he would KILL her ??? But she DID turn around...and she knew what she saw...and she went into Wintness Protection in order for the TRUTH to be told...and voluntarily became yet another innocent victim, but this one sentenced to a life of hiding and fear because of threats for retribution from the unjailed *Outlaw* motorcycle gang which *Crazy Joe* Spaziano belonged to.

Details, details, details of Joe Spaziano's guilt are so undeniably missing that it is no wonder *READERS* would easily be led down the path of thinking this heinous killer is innocent rather than guilty for what he indeed did do !!!

Using THIS CASE to make the authors cry for unjustice against *the innocent* concerning capital punishment is...TOTALLY ABSURB and even HARMFUL.

The author appears to have written this book from one other perspective...that of making a lot of money from the sales of his book. The key eye witness, Joe Spaziano's then girlfriend, testified for only ONE reason...so that the truth would be known and justice would be fulfilled. She never wrote a book about her story with this crazy man...one that has many, many, many more filthy and demeaning details of the unspeakable acts Spaziano and other Outlaw bikers did to their rival motorcycle gangs as well as other innocent people or even their very own members if that member did not comply to their *rules*.

Think about it...surely you, the reader of this book, must conclude that you're being fleeced.

February 18, 2004 Update on Mr. Spaziano's
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano, who avoided Florida's electric chair six years ago when his condemnation for murder was thrown out, was denied parole Wednesday on a sentence of life plus five years for raping a 16-year-old Orlando girl and slashing her eyes in 1974.

The state Parole Commission voted against changing Spaziano's April 2060 parole date on the rape conviction after a 40-minute hearing Wednesday when family members and attorneys on both sides testified in the case of the one-time member of the Outlaws motorcycle gang.

Spaziano, now 58, will be eligible to seek another parole hearing in 2009.

A new light
I really enjoyed the story of Sonia and Jesse Tafero.

It was made abundantly clear that Sonia is innocent, based on the sheer extent of prosecutorial misconduct.

My suggestion is that anyone interested in the facts behind the cases represented in this book should do some research on each individual. I feel that Jesse Tafero (if you read the evidence presented posthumously) could not have been the shooter in that particular case. And considering that the prosecution bribed witnesses to lie, suppressed evidence, and conducted a farce of a trial in general, it makes you wonder just WHAT exactly they were trying to hide?...

Great read, worth the expense!

Michael Mello has " I " trouble and I want a refund!!!!!!
The story of Joe Spaziano sounds like an interesting read. Outlaw biker convited of two heinous crimes and there's doubt about the crime for which he is sentenced to death. What SHOULD be a gripping account of the twists and turns of Capital Murder disintergrates into a lovefest--Michael Mello' Self Love and Admiration Society. The book is over 500 pages. If the word "I" were removed, the book would be about 25 pages. This reader wanted to know more about the facts; for instance what was the reason his FAMILY testified against him, why was he a suspect in an out-of state crime. The book is woefully short on facts on the case, and written in a breathless,"Aren't I wonderful and isn't Joe the second most fabulous human being on the earth (next to me, of course" style. Long on pages, short on facts about the crime. No wonders lawyers get no respect. ... Read more

Book Description

True story of the exploits of one of the U.S. Marshals' greatest "unknown" deputies.John Tom Sisemore enforced the law with "neither fear nor favor" in the Western District of Louisiana in the 1890's.One newspaper in 1896 reported, "John T. Sisemore has the reputation of being one of the best and most efficient officers in the service of the government; in fact his superiors say there is no better, braver, or more zealous deputy in the United States."The author uses court documents, old newspapers, and interviews of Sisemore's descendants to paint a compelling history of life--and death--at the turn of the century. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Family history revealed
What a joy to read this book!!!! So much history and excitement. John Tom Sisemore is my great-grandfather. I remember reading newspaper clippings about the murder but was never provided this much information of the incident and the events leading up to it. Mr. Harris has done an outstanding job of honoring the life and death of a wonderful lawman. One of the best books I have read in a while.

A Legend Remembered
This is a very good biography of a man that history had nearly forgotten. A historical review of the a lawman that "cleaned up the town" during the prohibition period, was feared by criminals throughout the region of Northern Louisiana and died in the line of duty...a murder which remains unsolved to this day!

If you like reading about tough, no non-sense lawmen of the west or historical accounts of Texas Rangers, you will really enjoy this book. This man had character, integrity, and a single-minded focus on upholding the law. He usually worked alone, most times outnumbered and rarely was outwitted by his adversaries.

This should be a required reading for students in Louisiana schools...they should revere and remember the heroes that help build their state.

Great lawman-outlaw story
I've read about many Old West-type lawmen, and John Sisemore is definitely one of the most interesting...his zeal for the job was unparalleled. Many of his arrests were recorded in local newspapers, so we know he spent a great deal of time chasing moonshiners...a typical assignment for U.S. marshals at that time. But few did it so doggedly and with such success. I particularly liked how the author weaved family members and townspeople into the story and showed how a community fought for law & order and how the results of that battle shaped the entire community for generations.

"Rediscovered" story worth reading
I had never heard of Deputy John Sisemore, having read everything available on U.S. Marshals. This account of his adventures beats anything John Wayne's "Rooster Cogburn" did. Sometimes the truth is wilder than fiction. The book is written with as a "non-fiction novel" to bring the story alive, with conversations and events carefully crafted from court transcripts and newspaper articles. Even though the book reads as a novel, the author gives extensive notes on his sources at the end of the book. If you love the Old West or enjoy classic stories of good versus evil, this book is a must read. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

It does lie,it does lie, it does lie....Cocaine!!
You will not have any trouble reading this book.It is one of the few books I have read where someone snorting his brains out on coke tries to explain, almost romantically, how he got started in dealing (the head of U.S Customs personally asked him to do it!!) and why Coke has a bad rap (after all, it WAS in Coca-Cola). He describes some great concealment methods that would still work as well today as it did in 1972, and it almost seems like he was the underdog fighting against the system. Almost. In reality he just dealt in misery and slowly became more misarable himself. Good book for anyone in law enforcement to read.

Long, Long nights in Miami
I first met Douglas Kalajian after toasting the New Journalism with the fabled editor Eddie Sears during a wine-fueled chit-chat in the executive floors of The Palm Beach Post. The year was 1994 or 1995. I forget, mainly because I left all my brains to the wrinkled mavens who entertained me nightly at the many ornate bars I frequented in Palm Beach. What Sears said about Kalajian pretty much cements my belief that Douglas, more than any other writer in star-crossed Southern Florida, has a full grasp of the many flawed characters that walk that wild geography. "Kalajian will shock the Hell out of a witch," Sears said. This book is about one such wicked dude. You can visit Florida for a week and it isn't long before you get the distinct feeling that Florida is no Midwest Wimp like Oklahomo or Kancer or Rita Nebraska...No, sir. Here, in his book, Douglas Kalajian is both Dali and Diego Rivera. He has painted a factual mural so alarming and bright that to read it is to see what's on the other side of the Sun. I read it while fishing in The Gulf of Mexico and damned if every damned fish I caught didn't look ugly as all Hell. Truth is scary and Douglas Kalajian has thrown truth at us...

Crusader with a pony tail
Snow Blind is a true story that moves at the pace of an action adventure. The action happens in the courtroom, as a youg public defender with a gift for showmanship rights wrongs, rescues the innocent and puts the high-and-mighty in their place. And then something goes wrong, big time. If you live in South Florida you WILL recognize the protagonist and the bigwigs he must duel. You'll be surprised, because not many people know the details. Even if you live elsewhere and don't know the names, you'll be swept along by this amazing story.

Once Blind He Now Sees
Kalajian has written a riveting tale of the true life fall of a passionate advocate for the poor who becomes caught in the seductions of the drug underworld and who saves his soul only when he returns to his calling to help others. ... Read more

Book Description

During his thirty-four year tenure as a Justice of the Supreme Court, Hugo L. Black demonstrated, in the words of one of his colleagues, "a true passion for the Constitution." At a moment's notice, in front of visiting students or a clutch of legal dignitaries, the Judge would whip his tattered copy of the Constitution from his coat pocket, flip through it to a particular passage and then, in a high voice, read the passage con vivace. And though Black began his political career in Alabama as the candidate of the Ku Klux Klan--with their help in 1926 he became a U.S. Senator--thirty years later, he would argue forcefully for an end to segregation in the South.

In Hugo L. Black: Cold Steel Warrior, distinguished writer Howard Ball draws from Black's extensive files in the Library of Congress and on interviews with his colleagues on the Court, his law clerks, and his family to illuminate the enigmatic career of a man who became one of the twentieth century's most vigilant defenders of freedoms and liberty. Ball's examination of Black's life reveals a consummate politician who kept, in a safe beside his desk, the names, addresses, and backgrounds of all those who gave Black support from the time he ran for the county solicitor's job in Jefferson County, Alabama, through his two terms as a U.S. Senator. A fervent New Deal advocate, Black lent his support to F.D.R.'s court packing plan, and was one of the few who stood with the President until the measure's defeat in 1937. Less than one month later, F.D.R. rewarded Black by nominating him to the Supreme Court. Soon after Black's confirmation by the Senate, the story of his Klan membership spread across the nation, prompting Time magazine to write that "Hugo won't have to buy a robe, he can dye his white one black." One of Black's early opinions for the Court, however, changed most of the negative opinion about him. Writing for the majority in Chambers v. Florida, Black and his colleagues overturned charges against four African-American men unjustly accused of murder.

In addition to Black's political and judicial career, Ball captures some of the great legal minds at work--Earl Warren, Thurgood Marshall, Felix Frankfurter, William O. Douglas, John M. Harlan II, and William J. Brennan--and their encounters with the tough Justice who was an immovable force when engaged in a constitutional battle. From Brown v. Board of Education and the first tests of the power of the federal courts to implement the Brown decision, to the height of McCarthyism and the national hysteria about Communism, to New York Times v. United States, the famous Pentagon Papers case in 1971 (Black's last opinion for the Court which defended a newspaper's First Amendment rights), Black emerges as a staunch defender of federalism and the primacy of the First Amendment, a strict, literal interpreter of the Constitution, and always proud to be a member of the Supreme Court.

Throughout his life, Hugo Black's cockiness, sternness, and stubborn determination won him many critics. On every occasion, as Howard Ball shows, Black proved his critics wrong. He became a major presence in the Senate and one of the great Justices ever to sit on the Supreme Court. ... Read more

Book Description

Chavez shares the experiences of his career with the United Nations, highlighting the many places he visited and scrutinizing the work of the organization. ... Read more

Book Description

A Masterful, moving account of the life and work of one of the great judges of the twentieth century, whose work has left a profound mark on our legal, intellectual, and social landscape. The greatest judge never to be appointed to the Supreme Court, Learned Hand is widely considered the peer of Justices Holmes, Brandeis, and Cardozo. In his more than fifty years on the bench, he left an unequaled legacy of lastingly influential writings. This distinctive biography goes well beyond Hand's official work, however, to depict both a complex human being and the times in which he lived. The first to draw on the enormous collection of the judge's private papers, the eminent constitutional scholar Gerald Gunther vividly portrays a public man consumed by private doubts. Gunther's lively account moves from Hand's childhood in a formidable (and anxiety-producing) family of lawyers to his years at Harvard as a studious outsider, his frustrating experience in private law practice, his felt inadequacies in marriage, and his work as a federal judge. Throughout his life, Hand believed himself unworthy of the accolades bestowed upon him; self-doubt permeated all aspects of his life.

Gunther subtly explores the ties between the modest, uncertain man -- a liberal skeptic who was never "too sure [he was] right" -- and his public record, and suggests that Hand's personal traits shaped his modest approach to judging: the questioning human being could not help acting that way as a judge. Hand's most enduring legacy is his advocacy of judicial restraint: repeatedly he sounded the dangers of excessive activism in unelected judges. Yet he mustered the courage to support such basic values as freedom of expression -- from his personally costly defense of dissenters amid the hysteria of World War I to his strong affirmation of free speech in his rulings on obscenity and his outspoken attacks on McCarthyism in the 1950s.

This biography also offers the perspective of one of this era's most sensitive public figures on the rich political and social history of the first six decades of the twentieth century. By examining Hand's voluminous correspondence with such acquaintances as Walter Lippmann, Felix Frankfurter, and Herbert Croly (with whom he was a founding contributor to The New Republic), Gunther illuminates Hand's intense involvement with the public issues of his times, such as his enthusiastic support of Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive party. Gunther gives us a graphic portrait of a complex and uncommon man whose thoughts and words inspired generations of Americans and continue to do so today. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

I Thought It Was Great
This is an outstanding biography written by one who is a true legal scholar in his own right. Gunther's understanding and insight into the legal issues surrounding the life of Learned Hand made reading this book a fine experience.

insufferably boring.
notwithstanding Justice Powell's glowing introduction, reading this book is like wading through cold oatmeal. anyone who can endure this avalanche of turgid prose to mine those incredibly few nuggets of interesting information about this great judge is a dedicated person indeed. save your money.

Assumes too much...
First, I would note that the purely biographical portions of the book are solid. They are well researched and supported by abundant original sources such as letters, speeches and judicial opinions. The primary glaring errors in the biographical aspect of the book are (1) the author refuses to accept Hand's own analysis of his view of judicial review as manifest in his final lectures at Harvard. Instead he accuses Justice Frankfurter (his well-meaning villian of all occasions) as skewing Judge Hand's understanding of Brown v. Board of Education (which Hand criticised as judicial usurpation). The author can't accept that position because he doesn't believe it and, therefor, Hand must not have either. (2) There is no mention, other than one line in the forward, of Hand's most important contribution to law, the Hand formula used in tort analysis of negligence. I think the reason is because the author opposes the Law and Economics crowd and doesn't want to highlight Hand's most powerful contribution to them. Still, these are two glaring errors and reduce the value of the book significantly.

The other portions of the book are very poorly developed. I am speaking of the historical contextual aspects that any biographer must provide to make meaning out of a biography. The unfortunate tendency of this author is to provide conclusory statements about historical, economic, political and social issues without ANY substantive support. His solid practice of providing regular original source material for the biographical portions is sadly lacking in the contextual sections. That's unfortunate because the author is just plain wrong in several instances. Most biographers do go to the trouble of providing contextual, historical justifications for their blanket statements, but those that don't usually instead avoid providing any analysis and confine themselves to the facts, supplemented by the subject's letters or statements about it. So, for instance, we are informed that one of the "underlying causes" of the Great Depression was the "smugness" of the monied interests. That's an interesting "underlying" cause of an economic disaster. In another location we are instructed that conservaivtes were generally narrow and shallow and that although many of Hand's positions on certain political and legal issues were in conjunction with conservatives, they were held by Hand because of fidelity to his understanding of the Constitution while conservatives held them for reasons of race or personal gain and hid behind Constitutional claims. This is the simplest form of character assassination, not to mention intellectual tripe. There are multiple instances of this bias running through the book. Whenever Hand moved to the left he was "expanding" or "growing". Whenever he moved to the right (to the extent the author doesn't explain it away as something it clearly wasn't) he was in danger of "hardening". This kind of writing is poor, but, unfortunately, as previous reviewers here make clear, it slips right by readers and into their mind as accurate. I would ask Mr. Gunther to cross his campus to the office of Thomas Sowell and engage him in conversation prior to denouncing conservatives as narrow. He is simply a liberal bigot.

Taken all in all, the book may deserve slightly higher marks than I have given it. As a relation of Hand's life experiences it is quite good, but it suffers significantly from the author's unfounded political preconceptions.

-Kelly Whiting

Brillant Jurist - An icon for 20th Century Law.
This biography is perhaps the best thing that has happened in law in the last thirty years. There is finally an account of a Jurist whose brilliant legal analyses and commitment to judicial process is made available for the legally interested. In a society which has come to view the legal profession as comprised of those who are still evolving out of the primordial sludge, Justice Hand was a man of imeccable values whose acute intellectual approach to law is viewed, in retrospect by this writer, as heroic. Professor Gunther's delivery is no less a work of poetry than Judge Hand's judicial opinions.

A biographical sketch worthy of its complex subject
An absorbing biography. This portrait of Learned Hand is as rich in detail and as dynamic in thought and scope as was the Judge himself. This book is written in style which is evocative and accessible. Gunther's review of the various legal doctrines is understandable without pandering. Woven throughout the book is a look at a very exposed human being. Here is a man with all the phobias and moroses of all men, yet a mind second to none. Tired of flat, one dimensional looks at individuals you wouldn't care about had you met them personally? Read this book. It will challenge and ultimately inspire you that there are books worth reading and people worth emulating. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Book
Thurgood Marshall was a remarkable man and his contributions are equally remarkable. Although he was handed the baton by other leaders of the NAACP, he ran just as fast as they and achieved much more. I liked reading this book largely because I am a future lawyer and am interested in this sort of thing. This book was also written by lawyers and the quality of writing is a bit dull. However, if you are into reading this sort of book, I do recommend giving it a shot. ... Read more

Book Description

Howell Thomas Heflin of Alabama was one of the last of the Roosevelt-style Southern progressive Democrats to serve in the United States Senate. He is also one of the few politicians in recent history to have spent a career in the public eye and retired with his integrity intact. This carefully researched authorized biography details the life of a man who grew up the son of a Methodist minister, graduated from a liberal arts college, became a highly decorated combat Marine in World War II, and then turned to the family businesses of law and politics. His uncle was Cotton Tom Heflin, one of the most famous Senators of the early 20th century and a notorious racist demagogue. Howell Heflin, on the other hand, earned a reputation for fairness and progressive racial views. He served as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court before going to the Senate, where he remained for 18 years. A large, folksy man, his engaging personal style masked a keen mind and political cunning that served him well in Washington and made him friends on both sides of the aisle. ... Read more