Justice Met in Spite of the Law – A Review
Michael Connelly’s Story of a Movie Mogul Murdering With Impunity
It has too often been said that justice doesn’t exist in a court of law, that rather it is the interpretation of the letter of the law that determines guilt or innocence. If this is the case, then those who can afford to pay out for the best legal counsel have a better chance of being acquitted, regardless of guilt or innocence, because the best are able to see errors in the prosecution’s case, or in the handling of evidence, or are able to get the case thrown out on a technicality. They are able to debate more cleverly and win the jury to seeing their clients as victims of the system.
Michael Connelly, in his Brass Verdict, explores the world of the legal mind and the dilemma that is faced when weaknesses in the system are deliberately exploited for profit.
Mickey Haller has been out of the legal world for over a year, but now he’s back and hits payday. He inherits a murdered colleague’s case load, including that of successful movie producer, Walter Elliot, accused of murdering his wife and her lover in a fit of rage. This is a chance for Mickey to prove that he still has what it takes, after two years of fighting pain and drug addiction. It is also a chance to make a lot of money and gain media celebrity status.
On meeting with his client, Walter Elliot, Mickey is surprised when he is told to go ahead with the court date, because with only two weeks, there is not enough time for him to prepare the best defense for his client. Walter points out to him that he is innocent and that he is sick of living under the accusation of murder and the sooner his innocence can be proved, the better it would be and if Mickey can’t meet that deadline, then another lawyer would be found.
Mickey’s preparations soon lead to him to some troubling questions, about the death of the previous attorney, Jerry Vincent, about notes concerning the ‘magic bullet’ and about the make-up of the jury itself. The jury selection process is supposed to be random, but he finds that it has been tampered with and that one of the jurors is this ‘magic bullet’, who will so coerce and manipulate the others, a ‘not guilty’ verdict will be found.
Brass Verdict is a prime example of Michael Connelly’s storytelling talents, bringing together for the first time, Mickey Haller, from The Lincoln Lawyer and the detective, Hieronymus Bosch.
ISBN: 0-316-6629-4
October 2008
Little, Brown & Company
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