Perhaps no one has keener insight into human nature than the
small-town trial lawyer. All but lost in an era of corporate law
firms and specialized practice, this charismatic figure was once at
the political center of a community and was the holder of its many
secrets. A small town attorney's only specialization was the town
itself. Serving as both defender and accuser, these lawyers
witnessed communities and individuals at their best and worst. Men
and women of the legal profession often exert influence in
seemingly small realms, but they play an important role in the
lives of many people and help shape the American legal system.
Veteran oral historian and folklorist William Lynwood Montell has
brought together a fascinating collection of tales gathered from
lawyers and judges throughout the Volunteer State. Montell searched
small towns and cities across Tennessee for the law's older and
middle age practitioners, and he shares the wealth of their
experience in Tales from Tennessee Lawyers. These stories are
recorded exactly as told by the lawyers themselves, and they reveal
candid and unusual snapshots of the legal system -- both past and
present. With a tape recorder and an ear for detail, Montell
uncovers events and lives ranging from the commonplace to the
extraordinary. A man resorts to prostitution to alleviate the debt
brought about by divorce proceedings. Identical twins are tried for
a string of murders. A convict flees his trial by stealing the
judge's car. A prosecutor tries the nation's first school-shooting
case. Judge George Balitsaris, a former University of Tennessee
football player, escorts a special prosecutor out of a notorious
rape trial as a precaution after the defendant's family issues
threats. These and similar stories illustrate the strange, complex
cases argued daily from Tennessee's largest cities to its smallest
towns. Far more than just a collection of lawyer jokes, these
recollections shed light on the tense and often dangerous lives of
those who work to see that all receive fair representation and
treatment in court.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!