5 comments about Ole Man on the Porch: The Trooper.

1. Excellent book! It is one you'll have a hard time putting down until you finish! It's funny, riveting and well written.



2. I read this book in one sitting. It shows the light side and the human side of law enforcement. It can enjoyed by anyone especially if you enjoy annecdotal southern humor.



3. Well sir, I laughed so hard that my side hurt, but maybe I'm a little biased, because I know these are true stories, and I'm involved in some of them. I always knew Bryan had the mark of greatness on him. I'll never forget what he told me during the commission of some of his pranks, "Well, Charles its like this, you're either wit me, or agin me." Bryan's practical jokes made going to work to much fun to miss, not to mention an adventure. The stories are hilarious and illustrations by Levi Powell are priceless.



4. In my opinion, this book is absolutely wonderful. Of course, I wrote it. My hope is that you enjoy reading it just half as much as I did writing it. As I wrote these one hundred stories, I found myself laughing, crying, and even pounding on my desk in anger. I firmly believe that they'll bring out the same emotions in you. With his cartoons, Levi Powell has done a great job of enhancement. He's a retired North Carolina State Trooper just as I am, so he knows. He's been there too.
   
   Enjoy!



5. This book is one of a kind; intriguing, and hilarious insight to adventures and experiences shared only thru the camaraderie of law enforcement. You will laugh...you will cry (as I am sure some are), at the saga of humor experienced during the career of a North Carolina State Trooper.
   To escape the daily stress upon law enforcement officers, one must have a sense of humor and laughter is an outlet. This book captures our imagination of how much the author not only enjoys life but also his career as a road Trooper. Bryan must feel great satisfaction from his accomplishments to keep intact a part of history with his stories.
   The illustrations add much humor to the stories.
   
   A BIG "ATTA BOY" BRYAN!!!

3 comments about Fighting Injustice.

1. In my first year of law school, the vocal Michael Tigar had a reputation around campus for being strategically dramatic and professionally pragmatic. In Fighting Injustice, however, the paper Tigar mixes history and amusement with quite personal anecdotes to gain the confidence, interest and compassion of his readers. The book is structured chronologically from his life as a child growing up in California through the recent past just before 9/11. He uses his own cases to exemplify the quest for justice in such areas as sexual/gender discrimination, military justice proceedings, draft board cases, death penalty and even the carefully orchestrated pomp of debates hosted by William F. Buckley, Jr.
   Fighting Injustice is the third book Tigar has authored for the American Bar Association, for which he served in various chair positions of the Litigation Section in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The book includes two important themes that have shaped Tigar's sense of justice and have gotten him into interesting and sometimes entertaining circumstances. One important theme is the light and dark aspects of affiliating with justice-seeking groups. Tigar begins the book with a discussion about his early childhood. His father worked at various jobs that were available to an ex-military man with minimal education until he ultimately joined a workers' union in California. His father's connection with the union resulted in young Michael's receiving autographed pictures of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, who were his movie heroes at the time. On one occasion, Roy Rogers came over to a table where young Michael and his father were seated to discuss hunting.
   
   Later in life, Tigar would experience a darker side of fraternizing with justice seeking groups. Throughout college, young Tigar worked tirelessly in student body government at the University of California at Berkley to support such causes as the free speech movement in the waning days of McCarthyism, abolishment of capital punishment and racial equality. His efforts included sit-ins, picketing and boycotts of stores that refused service to African-Americans. Later in law school, Tigar successfully led a campaign to remove the loyalty oath from the California bar student application. He argued that the oath unconstitutionally restricted freedom of speech by preventing bar members to "advocate the violent overthrow of the government." These activities later created political difficulties and pressures from the FBI and other governmental agencies when Tigar later sought employment as a law clerk to Justice Brennan of the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Brennan initially promised Tigar the position, but later reneged without any explanation. These and similar experiences recounted in Fighting Injustice suggest that Tigar's personal experiences with controversy motivated an understanding that justice seeking groups are made up of loved ones and heroes; whereas, those who execute the law can damage a person in ways that may have no practical defense or remedy.
   
   Another important theme of Tigar's theory of justice is his own desire for independence and control. As early as junior high school, young Tigar gained the election of student body president. Later, he practiced as an attorney for the renowned litigator Ed Williams in Washington D.C. at the Williams & Connolly law firm. Williams was famous for entertaining clients and other lawyers on any number of subjects at bars after work. Tigar, however, preferred to attend such gatherings only on occasion or when absolutely necessary. Tigar also experienced to his displeasure the leadership of Joe Califano at Williams & Connolly. Califano tended to lead the firm toward a bureaucratic practice that conflicted with Tigar's "organized chaos" conception of litigation.
   
   Fighting Injustice includes very few aspects that will disappoint the reader. Tigar falls short of, however, a complete development of his criticism of civil law practice. He makes a few critical remarks about the apparent importance of billable hours and the apparent bureaucratic management in civil firms, but falls short of proposing an alternative to the problems. Indeed, his criticism appears to be little more than accusing civil law firms of being motivated by money and being too efficient. His contrast of civil practice with his criminal practice, which includes approximately one-third pro bono cases, lacks a fair discussion of the different factors and incentives involved in civil and criminal practices. Although his brief criticism demonstrates perceived problems, its presentation belies a thorough understanding of the differences between the civil and criminal practices of law or a reasonable alternative.
   
   The factors contributing to injustice in the U.S.A. in virtually every criminal law context are developed with mastery and passion in Fighting Injustice. Michael Tigar uses a writing style that entertains and educates readers without assuming legal training, while simultaneously providing gems of instruction in the art of legal advocacy.



2. 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.



3. 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.

2 comments about I'm Not Done Yet: Keeping At It, Remaining Relevant, And Having The Time Of My Life.

1. To use the favorite word by which Ed Koch describes his life experiences -- this book is "enjoyable." It is autobiographical/philosophical, revealing, funny; I couldn't put it down. If you like Ed Koch (which I do -- I'm envious of his self-absorption), you can hear him on every page, ultimately as the educator that he is. It is a must-read, particularly for Post-War Baby Boomers, to see a view of age 75 that most of us didn't see/don't see in our parents. The book is truly inspirational in a very realistic way. "Ed Koch, I hope you live forever, and if you can't, I hope God takes you all at once as is your desire and not in pieces like 'salami.'"



2. ed koch, america's best known mayor in modern times, continues his sucess as a fascinating author. this book offers insights into how he moved from mayor of new york city, into jobs keeping him equally motivated and renowned. if character is everything, then ed koch has everything. a page turner of the first order, it pulls you in from the first page. anyone who has dreamed of coming to new york, been to new york, flown over new york, or heard of ed koch will find the book fascinating. we should all be as relevant and involved as ed koch.

5 comments about The Forgotten Memoir of John Knox: A Year in the Life of a Supreme Court Clerk in FDR's Washington.

1. The Booknotes discussion some years ago was unforgettable. Later, after reading the book, I found the author's focus on details of segregated Washington in the 1930's... (Black v. White) (Employer v. Employee) (Rich v. Broke)... to be a powerful lens, useful for looking at today's urban messiness. DC back then was a disturbing mix of bizarre skin-color rules, hatreds, affections and above all: -intimacies.
   The boss (US Supreme Court Justice McReynolds) employs 'servants' & he takes the job description VERY seriously. A well-off guy from Jim Crow Kentucky is shown to have gruesome personal limitations. After all, HE DECIDES to what extent this is a Republic "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal..."
   What is the measure of a man who poisons nearly ALL interactions with his peers at work and with those of his own household? What indeed. This a great book, from the tragic, desolate pen of Mr. Knox.



2. This book is a gem for anyone interested in the Supreme Court or in this era in particular. It is unlike anything else I have read about the Justices who were part of the Constitutional Revolution of 1937. John Knox's memoir provides a glimpse of people rather than historical figures, and that glimpse explains a lot. His style is conversational and easy to read. And the book is hard to put down.



3. This book is a delight to read, and throws light on the Supreme Court in the momentous court year of 1936-37 when the Court was saved by Justice Roberts breaking away from the conservative wing of the Court and upholding New Deal laws which, if they had been held unconstitutional, might well have resulted in changes to the Supreme Court such as FDR had requested. The account by John Knox of how he came to be Justice McReynolds' law clerk and the odd life had to lead as such clerk is of much interest. I have seldom read a memoir of greater interest than is this one. Knox himself is a most unusual person, having a effrontery which amazes one looking at it from the viewpoint of history. The book is magnificently edited, with citations which enable one in this computer age to look up the cases mentioned and live the time with Knox. Knox's subsequent career is also of interest, and poignant. This book is a winner, and anyone interested in Supreme Court history will find reading this book extremely rewarding



4. From the dying days of Russia's Tsarist courts in which the young Kafka sharpened his perception of the absurd, here, similarly is the prophetic voice of a clerk in the blossoming federal judiciary.

   Watch carefully over the next decade or so for a similar glimpse behind the curtain of our Oz-esque federal judiciary. The federal bench is a well hidden bastion of intellectual dishonesty and privelege. Coming works of this nature will owe Knox a certain debt. You will read them with a sharper eye for having shared a year with Knox.

   After a clerkship ghostwriting for a fat/lazy/corrupt federal district court judge as a "law clerk", this account helped me understand my own mis-steps once I escaped to the saner world of rural criminal defense work.

   Our federal courts especially remain a bastion of royalist arrogance. Knox's glimpse should be treasured by anyone encountering the federal courts whether as barrister, litigant or citizen. He speaks a timeless truth against which we are not well armed.




5. If you're the ultimate policy wonk on 2nd Amendment law, you'll want to read this book just for John Knox's insights into the character of Justice McReynolds who wrote the decision in U.S. v. Miller, 1939. Unfortunately, Knox was no longer clerking for McReynolds in 1939, so we miss the inside story on that landmark decision, but after you've read this book you'll better understand why Miller makes so little sense.

1 comments about Moments in Time: True Stories of the United States Postal Inspectors.

1. Moments in Time: True Stories of the United States Postal InspectorsThe stories were both attention getting and informative. I truly enjoyed the book and wish there were more stories of this group who very few people know. You get your mail everyday and once in a while you go to the post office, but not once do you consider that the post office is a target for robbers. Great Book!!!

1 comments about Justice Stephen Field: Shaping Liberty from the Gold Rush to the Gilded Age.

1. Paul Kens has written a lively, entertaining, and scholarly intellectual biography of one of the most fascinating justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, Stephen J. Field. Kens traces Field's career from his days as a young attorney just landed in gold-rush-crazed San Francisco in 1849, to his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court less than fourteen years later, and on to the end of the century. Along the way, Kens discusses the political and economic events that shaped the thinking of Field and those with whom he did intellectual battle. Throughout, the book deals with an issue central to law in the economic realm: Does the economic power with which society might legitimately be concerned stem from government alone, or do other, private sources of power warrant a governmental response? Field clearly answered this question in one way, whereas for much of their history Americans have answered it in another. It may be a question that, every generation or so, Americans must answer anew....

   Kens provides a balanced view. It would be easy to characterize Field as an apologist for the wealthy establishment--and he was so characterized by contemporary critics. But that characterization was not correct. Field's logic led him to take politically unpopular stands, especially with respect to issues of race, immigration, and corporate power. His concern about the potential abuse of government caused him to defend a strong role for federal judicial oversight of state legislation--recognizing that state legislatures might be even more likely than Congress to adopt special-interest legislation.

1 comments about Thurgood Marshall: Warrior at the Bar, Rebel on the Bench.

1. 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.

No comments about Saints for Lawyers.

5 comments about Fairy Tales Can Come True: How a Driven Woman Changed Her Destiny.

1. Rikki Klieman's story is a bright reminder of the effort (not struggle) required to achieve your goals. Rikki's story is colorful and exciting. It is an exciting read.



2. I recently picked up a paperback copy of FAIRY TALES CAN COME TRUE: How a Driven Woman Changed Her Destiny, and I couldn't put it down until I'd finished the last page of the Epilogue! This driven woman's life reads like a novel, complete with suspense, intrigue, boldface names, steamy encounters, emotional meltdowns, and (which isn't giving anything away given the book's title) picking up the pieces all over again to create something even better. If you're a professional woman (or aspire to become one), in the legal profession in any capacity, or just enjoy getting inside the head and life of successful people, I think you'd enjoy this candid memoir. It's a perfect summer read!



3. Rikki Klieman is not much of a writer and less of a person. There is nothing here of interest or value.



4. In this book I found an enlightening story about the struggle to get to the top. A great description of the amount of dedication and self-sacrifice necessary to overcome obstacles, define (and redefine) goals, and to never stop moving forward. For any young woman looking to see what it takes to get to the top of her respective field, this is a wonderful story-if it is taken with a grain of salt. Even though Mrs. Klieman seems to find strength in her struggle in a man's world, she digresses to hypocrisy and to being just like a man more than she gives herself credit for.
   You can call her a slut, or a liberated woman (that's the way it was in the 70s according to her). You can call her driven, or you can call her obsessed to a fault. You can say she is focused, or you can say that she ignores what fails to progress her theme-she is a good lawyer after all.
   She writes that she never wanted to be placed ahead because she was a woman. But in one part of the book she calls a judge who also happened to be her ex (they dated while she was CLERKING!!)so that he could get her an interview with someone she otherwise would have had to wait months to see. This is just one example of many sordid situations. She is appalled when she is passed up for a judgeship because, according to her, she was too pretty. Yet there is clear evidence that she uses her looks just as much as she uses her brains. She also seems to think she is a super good-looking lady. She mentions it so, so, so many times it starts to get ridiculous!!! (is it just me, or is she not really that hot?)
   In the book she was an alcoholic, a workaholic, vomited involuntarily on a weekly basis, was someone who couldn't carry on a relationship, never had kids, and basically admits to cheating on her husband (and wonders why he didn't want to have anything to do with the book). She had no life outside of the law. The best years of her life went to her clients. I thought the point was work to live, not live to work. She does the latter, incessantly. If she were a man, her life wouldn't be that remarkable. She had a part to play in every major obstacle she faced in life-she did it to herself. So many people throughout the book helped her that it's hard to believe she is self-made in the true sense. But the biggest gripe is the fact that she did not find happiness until AFTER she stopped practicing law. Her life during her years of practice totally sucked-I'm not sure what message that is supposed to send. If this is how you want to get to the top, be my guest.



5. Harvard Law School celebrates its 50th year of admitting women with a three day program, featuring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Attorney General Janet Reno.

   We begin our 30th year of practicing law today -- we have no idea where the time went. It really flew.

   Our law school class had some 200 students, 11 of whom were women. Women now make up 50% or more of law school classes around the country.

   We'd like to see more women criminal defense lawyers in private practice -- this field remains very much male-dominated.

   To get a real inside glimpse of the hurdles women defense lawyers face -- and the degree of determination needed to suceed, we highly recommend defense lawyer-turned Court TV anchor Rikki Klieman's new book, Fairy Tales Can Come True: How a Driven Woman Changed Her Destiny.

   We describe the book on CrimeLynx as "a riveting, brutally honest memoir by celebrated criminal trial attorney and Court TV Anchor Rikki Klieman, in which she details not only her triumphs as a pioneer in the male-dominated arena of criminal defense, but the price she paid for success -- and the toll it took on her personal life and physical health. The book becomes filled with spirit and joy, however, as Rikki describes falling in love in middle age and learning that she can have it all."

1 comments about Dallas and the Jack Ruby Trial: Memoir of Judge Joe B. Brown, Sr..

1. No serious reader who is interested in the circumstances of the assassination of John Kennedy and the subsequent murder of his assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, should miss this book which provides valuable insight into the motives of Oswald's killer, Jack Ruby, through the eyes of the trial judge; the statements made by Jack Ruby to the Warren Commission and during the course of Ruby's FBI polygraph examination.
   Many readers will recall the hysteria which was created by these two murders which occurred in Dallas within 48 hours. Speculation immediately arose and persists today whether Oswald was the sole assassin and whether Jack Ruby killed Oswald to silence him, thereby protecting Oswald's alleged accomplices. There was also speculation that Oswald was the tool of a foreign government and/or whether Ruby was hired by those same interests to silence Oswald.
   A reading of the Ruby interrogation conducted by Chief Justice Warren and former President Gerald Ford provides the reader with valuable clues to Ruby's motivations. Ruby's testimony appears to be somewhat self-serving, but his insistence on a polygraph to prove his truthfulness is noteworthy and the results are very interesting.
   The editor drew on her vast research and experiences as a Dallas psychologist to provide the reader with the necessary background regarding the mood of Dallas and in the final analysis, that mood was the key element resulting in the appellate court reversal of the Ruby conviction.