The Silk Brief


John M. Burton - 2012
    The book transported my imagination where I was right inside a courtroom drama…. Fantastic, thoroughly recommend this book!” “Both educational and entertaining …I thought the author did an excellent job of introducing Americans to the British legal system (which bemuses many of us as much as cricket). I always love good summations, and these were of high calibre… The author demonstrated a mastery of providing meaningful snippets of personal life essentially in textual asides.”“Author John Burton, Q.C. knows of whereof he writes, and his book, as well as being a well plotted, well written and highly enjoyable murder trial novel, is an education in the English criminal justice system, warts and all… There is also a fascinating subplot about the business of English criminal lawyers and the intrigues of the “Chambers” in which Brant practices.”“…..the skills of both the Prosecution, Joanna Glass QC and the Defence are on display. The reader is made to feel part of the Defence team.”David Brant QC is a newly appointed Queen’s Counsel, a “Silk”, a Criminal Barrister struggling against ever-dwindling legal aid funds and a lack of work. His Chambers is also suffering internal and external pressures and his Senior Clerk seems to only serve a select few. Life at the Bar is more challenging than ever before. His personal life is not much better. Having faced an acrimonious divorce after an inadvisable liaison with a female Solicitor, his life has become a mixture of enforced rest and ever increasing consumption of Claret and Rioja Reserva. However, after a night out with his Senior Clerk, he is instructed to defend in a Murder trial, leading one of the instructing solicitor’s firm’s In-House Barristers.The client is a Mr Damien Clarke, a cocaine addict charged with killing a known associate, Usman Hussain, after a night of smoking crack together in Hussain’s flat. The evidence against Damien appears almost overwhelming and as the case progresses towards trial it is strengthened by further forensic scientific evidence.David Brant QC must use all his forensic skill to combat the array of damning evidence against Damien and to pit his wits against a highly competent Prosecutor and a Judge who has a personal dislike for him. The Silk Brief takes us from before David Brant QC is instructed, through his early preparation of the case and conferences with the client in the High Security Belmarsh prison, through to the trial and verdict. It provides the day by day record of a murder trial including the examination and cross-examination of lay and expert witnesses, Counsel’s speeches, the Judges summing up and finally the jury’s deliberations and verdict. Although a work of fiction, the author draws extensively on his knowledge of the Criminal Bar of England and Wales, having practiced as a Criminal Barrister for over thirty years, latterly as Queen’s Counsel, conducting many trials, including murder trials in the Central Criminal Court, known colloquially and fondly as “The Old Bailey”.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt


Stephen Penner - 2012
    The defendant fled barefoot, abandoning her shoes in the pool of blood under the victim. It looks like an open-and-shut case, but Brunelle should know better. If he doesn't figure out the truth--and fast--it's his blood that might be spilled next.

Malice


Liz Crokin - 2015
    The lifelong conservative Republican finds herself extremely conflicted covering a sex scandal involving potentially the nation’s first Mormon President. The juicy assignment takes Lana on a wild and dangerous adventure from a desert town filled with sleazy brothels to quiet, Mormon-filled Salt Lake City. Lana’s millionaire boyfriend’s love and support gives her strength during her roller coaster assignment–until her entire world suddenly collapses. Ironically, Lana’s life becomes a worse nightmare than any salacious story she had covered in her ten-year career in the crazy, upside down world of tabloid journalism.

Missing Evidence (Goodlove and Shek #5)


Al Macy - 2021
    The boy asks for help because he thinks his older sister may be some kind of vigilante. Belinda, eighteen and way too sexy for her own good, has been missing for five months. The police are convinced that she’s just another runaway. Her bullheaded stepdad agrees.But the younger brother found Belinda’s secret stash of chatroom texts. They suggest she’s on a misguided mission to entrap and kill a sexual predator. If so, she’s in over her head and on a collision course with a first-degree murder indictment.Goodlove promises Belinda’s family that he’ll help her.But first, he has to find her.Missing Evidence may be enjoyed as a standalone book or as part of the Goodlove and Shek series.

Jake Wolfe Series Bundle Box Set


Mark Nolan - 2018
    When war veteran Jake Wolfe accidentally takes his picture during a murder, The Artist adds Jake to his kill list and he becomes a target in a deadly game of cat and mouse. How far would you go to protect your loved ones from a killer? VIGILANTE ASSASSIN: Jake Wolfe wants to leave his violent past behind, but when a woman and her kids are threatened he starts a one-man vigilante war on a criminal gang.Every marriage has a secret, and this one is deadly. Lauren Stephens wakes up to find her husband, Gene, has vanished during the night. His phone is dead. Desperate, she hires Jake Wolfe and his war dog, Cody. They search the house and discover something so disturbing that Jake won’t allow Lauren near it. “No, if you see this, there is no unseeing it.” KILLER LAWYER: Attorney by day, assassin by night. Jake Wolfe is a young lawyer who leads a secret life.Trained by the CIA, he now wants peace and quiet, practicing law and living on a boat with his war dog. But when his city is shocked by a serial killer and he’s framed for the murder of a friend, Jake must race against time to find the killer before he strikes again.Buckle up for a wild ride as Jake Wolfe and his exceptionally intelligent dog, Cody, rush into action in these page-turning thrillers in Mark Nolan’s bestselling series that has earned thousands of 5-star ratings on Amazon and Goodreads.

Splitsville


William Bernhardt - 2021
    A bitter custody battle. A deadly fire. This case could cost Kenzi her career—and her life.Kenzi Rivera is furious. Passed over for promotion at her own father’s firm, the talented divorce lawyer is tired of fighting chauvinism every single day. When a desperate scientist begs for help getting her daughter back, Kenzi can’t resist…even though this client is involved in Hexitel, a group she calls her religion but others call a cult.Kenzi uncovers evidence of disturbing practices at Hexitel involving large sums of money, servitude, and sex. She also learns her client’s lab has been plagued by death threats and cutthroat competition. After the workplace burns to the ground and her client is charged with murder, the ambitious attorney knows there is much more at stake than a simple custody dispute.Can Kenzi find a path to the truth before she’s trapped in a maze of death?Splitsville is the dramatic first book in the Splitsville Legal Thriller series. If you like gutsy heroines, diverse characters, and page-turning suspense, then you’ll love William Bernhardt’s twisty tale.

The Law of Self Defense


Andrew F. Branca - 2013
    That's why you take steps to protect yourself and your family. Whether it be that shotgun in the corner, the sidearm on your hip, or the pepper spray you gave your daughter, you meet that fundamental responsibility. But if you're like most people, your preparations still lack a critical element. You still need to know how to survive the critical fight that looms after any defensive encounter: the legal battle. The Law of Self Defense provides precisely that critical, missing knowledge. This book includes not just the laws of all fifty states, but how the courts apply those laws. It's a plain-talk analysis that makes the law easy to understand, not just lawyers. Learn how to make fast, effective decisions and confidently handle life-and-death situations both tactically and legally.

Triumph of Justice: Closing the Book on the O.J. Simpson Saga


Daniel Petrocelli - 2016
    Simpson free, Daniel Petrocelli came to pick up the pieces. Outraged by the disastrous miscarriage of justice, the family of murder victim Ronald Goldman sought justice in civil court—their last chance to go after Simpson. To represent them, they hired Petrocelli, a respected attorney who had never before tried a criminal case. In order to win the case, Petrocelli would have to prove that O.J. Simpson was a killer.The physical evidence connecting Simpson to the murders was rock solid, but in the criminal trial, evidence was not enough. To bring the families justice, Petrocelli would have to do something that the District Attorney had not been able to do: confront O.J. Simpson face-to-face.Called “the best book on the subject” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Triumph of Justice is the definitive account of the Simpson murders and their aftermath. In the long, twisted history of the trial of the century, Daniel Petrocelli has the final word.

Breakdown: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Heenan Blaikie


Norman Bacal - 2017
    When it collapsed in February 2014, lawyers across Canada and the business community were stunned. What went wrong? Why did so many lawyers run for the exit? How did it implode? What is it that holds professional partnerships together?This is the story of the rise and fall of a great company by the ultimate insider, Norman Bacal, who served as managing partner until a year before the firm's demise. Breakdown takes readers into the boardroom offices during the heady growth of a legal empire built from the ground up over 40 years. We see how after a change of leadership tensions erupted between the Toronto and Montreal offices, and between the hard-driving lawyers themselves. It is a story about the extraordinary fragility of the legal partnership, but it's also a classic business story, a cautionary tale of the perils of ignoring a firm's culture and vision.Normal0falsefalsefalseEN-USJAX-NONE<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment--><!--EndFragment-->

Playing with Fire: A Legal Thriller


James Taylor Adams - 2015
    Thwarted in a previous attempt to bring charges for other nefarious crimes, Ms. Battle is determined to put the crime boss behind bars, and this time she has what looks like an airtight case. Claiming he has been framed, Carmine hires the blue blood, Harvard-educated attorney Harrison Fletcher, Jr. who was recently fired from his position as Assistant DA for refusing to compromise his ethics, to help him prove his innocence. Assisted by his beautiful wife and a scruffy, alcohol-loving detective, Harry sets out to discover who set the fire and why. As what really happened that June night becomes clear, evidence begins to disappear. With the defense’s case starting to crumble, Harry devises a way to prove Carmine’s innocence. But will the plan work?

Working a Democratic Constitution: A History of the Indian Experience


Granville Austin - 2000
    Austin's magnum opus tells the very human story of how the social, political, and day-to-day realities of the Indian people have been reflected in and directed the course of constitutional reforms since 1950.

The Indian Constitution


Madhav Khosla - 2012
    Combining authoritative analysis, new ideas, and diverse perspectives, they discuss subjects which are topical yet enduring, as also emerging areas of study and debate. Giving identity to over a billion people, the Indian Constitution is one of the world's great political texts. Drafted over six decades ago, its endurance and operation have fascinated and surprised many. In this short introduction, Madhav Khosla brings to light its many features, aspirations, and controversies. How does the Constitution separate power between different political actors? What form of citizenship does it embrace? And how can it change? In answering questions such as these, Khosla unravels the document's remarkable and challenging journey, inviting readers to reflect upon the theory and practice of constitutionalism in the world's largest democracy.

The Canadian Manifesto


Conrad Black - 2019
    It is our turn," writes Conrad Black in this scintillating manifesto for how Canada can achieve an exalted role in world affairs. For over 400 years we have toiled in the shadows of our potential and achieved an indifferent recognition among other nations. Chipper, patient, and courteous, we have pursued an improbable destiny as a splendid nation in the northern section of the new world, a demi-continent of relatively good and ably self-governing people, but most would agree we have neither developed a vivid national personality nor realized our true potential. Our main chance, writes Black, is now before us and it is not in the usual realms of military or economic dominance. With the rest of the West engaged in a sterile and platitudinous left-right tug of war, Canada has the opportunity to lead the advanced world to its next stage of development in the arts of government. By transforming itself into a controlled and sensible public policy laboratory, it can forge new solutions to the tiresome problems besetting welfare, education, health care, foreign policy, and other governmental sectors the world over, and make an enormous contribution to the welfare of mankind. Canada has no excuse not to lead in this field, argues Black, who offers nineteen visionary policy proposals of his own. "This is the destiny, and the vocation, Canada could have, not in the next century, but in the next five years of imaginative government.

Fatal Dosage: The True Story of a Nurse on Trial for Murder


Gary Provost - 1985
    Now she had everything she wanted—until the nightmare began at Morton General Hospital.THE CRIMELicensed practical nurse Anne Capute administered a fatal dose of morphine to a dying patient, Norma Leanues. Anne claimed she was following common practice at Morton General, with a verbal approval by Dr. Hillier, to administer unrestricted doses of morphine as a humane antidote to the unbearable suffering of terminal cases.THE CHARGEOne day after the death of Mrs. Leanues, Dr. Hillier was off on a European vacation, and Anne Capute was suspended. Three days later she was advised to retain a lawyer—she would be standing trial for first degree murder.THE TRIALOne after another, doctors and nurses with whom Anne had worked so closely testified against her. And the most damaging prosecution witness of all was Dr. Hillier. Suddenly Anne’s life’s dream was destroyed. And as her personal life, too, began to shatter, there remained little hope of acquittal—or justice.Anne Capute: A woman on trial for her life. One dedicated nurse battling against the vast influence of the medical establishment. Hers is a true story of courage, drama, and penetrating suspense that no reader will soon forget.

Western Political Thought


O.P. Gauba