No comments about Suicide Lawyers: Exposing Lethal Secrets.

2 comments about Judge Dave and the Rainbow People.

1. This book is, as President Teddy Roosevelt would say, DELIGHTFUL.
   For fellow judges, lawyers, and law students, it is a rare look into the judicial decision making process of a federal jusge. Judge Sentelle tells the story (laced with humour) of how he used appropiate judicial restraint and fairness to solve a complex civil case.
   As you follow his actions during the course of this case, you will see this judge exhibits humility, wisdom and common-sense judgment----virtues that all federal and state judges should have.
   Thanks, Your Honor, for an enjoyable and worthwhile book.



2. It's not every day that you read a book containing the full text of a consent agreement between parties to a health statute dispute and still find it very enjoyable. It's just as uncommon for a federal appeals court judge to write a book about the time he oversaw the peaceful assembly of thousands of middle-aged hippies in the woods of North Carolina. But that's what Judge Dave and the Rainbow People is about.

   The Rainbow People are not an organization as such. They're just whoever shows up around Independence Day each year at a place on federal land decided the year before. The people who show up are mostly baby boomer ex-hippies trying to relive the Summer of Love. They come by the thousands, get naked, and live in the woods for weeks. Invariably, the Forrest Service comes after them.

   In 1987 the Rainbow People converged on Nantahala Forrest in Western North Carolina. It wasn't long before the State tried to evict them under a sanitation law that was arguably unconstitutional. The case ended up before Judge Dave, who was a circuit court judge at the time.

   The result is an endearing account of how a conservative judge faced 15,000 decadent hippies (and at least one elephant), the ACLU, snarky law clerks, a ticking clock, and his own Senate confirmation to the D.C. Circuit in the background, and still managed to avoid catastrophe by avoiding a ruling on the law. Judge Dave is sincere and admits up front that this was one case where the results, and not the letter of the law, drove his decision. The alternative was a possible showdown between thousands of until-then peaceful gatherers and state troopers. I guess he made use of judicial discretion.

   Judge Dave got to visit the Rainbow camp a couple of times while he assessed the problem and later monitored the implementation of the agreement he brokered between the two sides. These visits account for much of the book and Judge Dave recounts them with a wonderful understated dry wit. "That weekend, July 4th occurred on Saturday as scheduled," he recalls in one part.

   You learn how tolerant Judge Dave is. Not in the modern meaning of the word, which holds that everyone's wonderful, but as originally defined: "to allow without prohibiting" even if one strongly disagrees. You also learn how truly peaceful the Rainbow People are and how this allowed tolerance to work. Finally, you learn that Judge Dave found himself staring at the naked ladies quite a bit!

   I would recommend this book, especially to lawyers, law students, and hippies (quite the niche). The only real critique I have is that at the end of the book, one of the Rainbow leaders shares his memories in 20 pages. I bet this was done to provide some sort of "equal time", but it doesn't add much and is actually a bit distracting. After finishing Judge Dave's hilarious and fair account of the gathering it's odd to go through a flat mini-review of what you just read. But hey, judge for yourself. Happy trails!

No comments about Portia Steps Up to the Bar: The First Women Lawyers of South Carolina.

1 comments about Matthew J. Perry: The Man, His Times, and His Legacy.

1. This books does more than just tell you about the gentleman lawyer, Matthew J. Perry, it sets the scene for him before, during and now in South Carolina. The book puts in perspective what Perry had to deal with as he fought for the rights of South Carolina's African American citizens. He is an unflappable, decisive, thorough, warm, honest human being and a civil rights attorney par excellence. It is well written, with various contributors talking about him based on their experiences. It is well documented, so that it may also be used as a reference tool. It is timely and very readable. I recommend it highly.

No comments about Superlawyers: America's Courtroom Celebrities : 40 Top Lawyers and the Cases That Made Them Famous.

No comments about Judge Joe : In the Eye of the Storm.

No comments about Ralph Nader: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies).

4 comments about Blue Trust: The Author, the Lawyer, His Wife, and Her Money.

1. The book was in great condition, but I find the shipping that and I paid and what was used to be out of line. Other than that the transaction went very smoothly



2. The Blue Trust chronicles the rise and fall of two highly ambitious people, Bruce and Lynne Verchere. For those of us who worked at Manac Systems in the mid-eighties there is some grim sense of satisfaction with respect to the destiny of Lynne Verchere. The author avoids the darker side of Vercheres personality, but for those of us who knew her, any sense of pity that the story elicits is mitigated by the reality of having dealt with her on a day to day basis. Lynne Verchere was not a victim. The final tragedy of Bruce Verchere is a metaphor for the gaping hole in her own psyche. Notwithstanding the mess he had made of his life, Bruce Vercheres last desperate act was undoubtedly triggered by her final "victory" over him.



3. Interesting because it's a true story, and for Canadians some recognizable names, but oh does it ramble. This story could have and should have been told in 100 pages not 373.



4. This book demonstrates how reality is stranger then fiction.Wonderfully researched, this story illustrates the folly of deciet and selfishness.

   How the wildest successes can end in tragedy because of weakness in character.

   This true story chronicles the life of a tax lawyer, his wife, a successful software entrepreneur, and includes among other household names, the Arthur Hailey family.

   This story unfolds like a classic Greek tragedy set in contemporary western times,I look forward to reading it again for all the important lessons it holds.

1 comments about Hanging Judge.

1. Written in the 1950's, this book displays a remarkable lack of research and fact. Read S.W. Harman's 'Hell on the Border' instead. The book reflects more about the time it was written than the the person it is describing.

No comments about Hugo L. Black: Cold Steel Warrior.