Great Throughts Treasury

"The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Dell is a registered trademark of Random House,"

"The prosecution was forced into the bizarre position of admitting Ward and Fontenot were lying while asking the jurors to believe them"

"The quickest way to freedom, or at least to a reduced sentence, was to hear or claim to hear a prized suspect confess in whole or in part to his crime, and then trade this off in an attractive plea bargain with the prosecutor."

"The real tragedy of the federal criminal system is not the absurdities. It is the ruined and wasted lives. Congress demands long, harsh sentences, and for the violent thugs these are appropriate. Hardened criminals are locked away in U.S. Pens, fortresses where gangs are rampant and murders are routine. But the majority of federal prisoners are nonviolent, and many are convicted of crimes that involved little, if any, criminal activity."

"The state medical examiner completed an analysis of the jawbone and concluded that it came from a possum. This was given to the press."

"The site of the burned house was located, and the police found the remains of what appeared to be a jawbone. This was soon reported in the Ada Evening News."

"The road to justice is filled with barriers and land mines, most of them created by men and women who claim to be seeking justice."

"The tumor will eventually take Paul?s life. However, focused ultrasound therapy could transform a fatal condition into one that is chronic, but manageable. In contrast to the best current treatment circa 2015, the futuristic ultrasound therapy depicted here circa 2025 could potentially be accomplished on an outpatient basis without multiple days of hospitalization; without surgery and its attendant risks of infection and complications like blood clots and brain damage; without the harmful effects of radiation; and with minimal side effects of chemotherapy due to focused drug delivery. The net result could be a dramatic improvement in the quality and longevity of countless lives, and decreased cost of treatment."

"The spirit flowed more freely and made for a more spontaneous style of worship."

"The worst letters come from retired high school English teachers. They will literally take a book and pick it to pieces and send me 14 pages of notes."

"The usual stuff. School, homework, I don?t remember everything. Theo had watched enough trials to know that answers should often be kept vague, and that I don?t recall and I don?t remember were perfectly acceptable in many instances. Did you chat online? the detective asked. No, sir, not last night. Just phone. They often used Facebook and text messages, but Theo knew not to volunteer information. Just answer the question in front of you. He?d heard his mother say this to her clients many times. Any sign of a break-in? Mr. Boone asked. None, said Bolick. Mrs. Finnemore was sound asleep in the downstairs bedroom, she heard nothing, and at some point she got up to check on April. That?s when she realized she was gone. Theo looked at Mrs. Finnemore, who again shot him a fierce look. He knew the truth, and she knew he knew the truth. Trouble was, Theo couldn?t tell the truth because he?d made a promise to April."

"Theodore Boone was an only child and for that reason usually had breakfast alone. His father, a busy lawyer, was in the habit of leaving early and meeting friends for coffee and gossip at the same downtown diner every morning at seven. Theo?s mother, herself a busy lawyer, had been trying to lose ten pounds for at least the past ten years, and because of this she?d convinced herself that breakfast should be nothing more than coffee with the newspaper. So he ate by himself at the kitchen table, cold cereal and orange juice, with an eye on the clock. The Boone home had clocks everywhere, clear evidence of organized people. Actually, he wasn?t completely alone. Beside his chair, his dog ate, too. Judge was a thoroughly mixed mutt whose age and breeding would always be a mystery. Theo had rescued him from near death with a last-second appearance in Animal Court two years earlier, and Judge would always be grateful. He preferred Cheerios, same as Theo, and they ate together in silence every morning. At 8:00 a.m., Theo rinsed their bowls in the sink, placed the milk and juice back in the fridge, walked to the den, and kissed his mother on the cheek. Off to school, he said. Do you have lunch money? she asked, the same question five mornings a week. Always. And"

"There was a hint of sunlight to the east. As they drove through the residential neighborhood, Theo stared out of his window, searching for the hardened face of Jack Leeper. But no one was out there. Lights in homes were being turned on. The town was waking up. It?s almost six, Mr. Boone announced. I say we go to Gertrude?s and have her world-famous waffles. Theo? I?m in, Theo replied, though he had no appetite. Marvelous, honey, Mrs. Boone said, though all three knew she would have nothing but coffee."

"There?s an old adage in bad trial lawyering that when you don?t have the facts, do a lot of yelling."

"There's always such a rush to judgment. It makes a fair trial hard to get."

"They arrived in the same car half an hour later, and as they were putting on rain slickers an ambulance arrived with a crew of three. From the gravel road, they all strained to see the old sycamore, but after a few seconds of focusing it was apparent there was a man hanging from it. Calvin told them everything he knew. The deputies decided it was best to proceed as if a crime had been committed, and they prohibited the ambulance crew from approaching the scene. Another deputy"

"There are few things in life worse than a long-winded lawyer."

"This morning he couldn?t dwell on waffles and fudge, famous or not. He was far too occupied with thoughts of April and the slimy figure of Jack Leeper. The Boones were seated at a small table in the crowded diner. The air was thick with bacon grease and strong coffee, and the hot topic, as Theo realized not long after he sat down, was the abduction of April Finnemore. To their right, four uniformed policemen talked loudly about the possibility that Leeper was close by. To their left, a table of gray-haired men spoke with great authority on several subjects, but seemed particularly interested in the kidnapping, as it was sometimes referred to. The menu promoted the myth that Gertrude?s was indeed the home of World-Famous Pecan Waffles. In silent protest against false advertising, Theo ordered scrambled eggs and sausage."

"This woman has had the hell beaten out of her."

"They were dumbfounded. The man was thoroughly incapable of admitting a mistake or grasping the reality of the situation."

"They shook hands. She thanked him for his pro bono."

"They found Seth Hubbard in the general area where he had promised to be, though not exactly in the condition expected."

"They, the lawmakers, were hoodwinked by the insurance companies who are still funding the national tort reform movement, a political crusade that has been wildly successful. Virtually every state has fallen in line with caps on damages and other laws designed to keep folks away from the courthouse. So far, no one has seen a decline in insurance rates. An investigative report by my pal at the Chronicle revealed that 90 percent of our legislators took campaign money from the insurance industry. And this is considered a democracy."

"They pondered this. They eventually agreed that they would discuss it later, at the office, while Theo was at school. Mrs. Finnemore was obviously lying to the police, but the Boones were reluctant to get in the middle of that. They doubted if she knew anything about the abduction. She seemed distressed enough. She probably felt guilty for being away when her daughter was taken. The food arrived and the waitress refilled the coffee cups. Theo was drinking milk. The situation was very complicated, and Theo was relieved to have his parents involved and doing their share of the worrying. Anything else, Theo? his father asked. Not that I can think of. His mother said, When you talked to her last night, was she frightened? Yes. She was really scared and also worried about her mother. Why didn?t you tell us? his father asked. Because she made me promise not to tell. April has to deal with a lot, and she?s very private. She?s also embarrassed by her family and tries to protect them. She was hoping her mother would show up at any minute. I guess someone else"

"They, the lawmakers, were hoodwinked by the insurance companies who are still funding the national tort reform movement, a political crusade that has been wildly successful."

"This is not science fiction. Around the world, 50,000 men with prostate cancer have been treated with focused ultrasound. Over 22,000 women with uterine fibroids (benign tumors of the uterus) have been treated, thus avoiding hysterectomies and infertility. Clinical trials for tumors of the brain, breast, pancreas and liver, as well as Parkinson?s disease, arthritis, and hypertension are inching forward at over 225 research sites around the world."

"This is not a problem peculiar to Oklahoma, far from it. Wrongful convictions occur every month in every state in this country, and the reasons are all varied and all the same?bad police work, junk science, faulty eyewitness identifications, bad defense lawyers, lazy prosecutors, arrogant prosecutors."

"We learned after the first semester in law school that it's best never to discuss exams. If notes are compared afterwards, you become painfully aware of things you missed."

"Unintended victims of tough laws passed by tough politicians over the past forty years. One million young black men now warehoused in decaying prisons, idling away the days at taxpayer expense. Our prisons are packed. Our streets are filled with drugs. Who?s winning the war? We?ve lost our minds."

"Thus, the question was too vague to require a definite answer on his part. He had seen this time and time again in trials. In his opinion, Sergeant Bolick and the detective were being far too sloppy with their questions. So far, they had not been able to pin him down, and he had not told a lie. May Finnemore was overcome with tears and made a big show out of crying. Bolick and the detective quizzed Theo about April?s other friends, any potential problems she was having, how she was doing in school, and so on. Theo gave straight answers, with no wasted words. A female officer in uniform had entered the den from upstairs, and she sat with Mrs. Finnemore, who was again distraught and overcome. Sergeant Bolick nodded at the"

"Two thousand lawyers in twenty countries, half of them in New York City alone, a thousand right up there packed together on floors 30 through 65."

"We cuss them because we're not good enough for them. We hate them because they wouldn't look at us, couldn't be bothered to give us an interview. I guess there's a Trent & Brent in every city, in every field. I didn't make it and I don't belong, so I'll just go through life hating them."

"Though it is painful, I would prefer to sit here all afternoon and throughout the night, just waiting for my little boy to appear and ask, Where?s my boat? It is the last place he saw his father. If he?s just lost,"

"We want justice, and quickly. And justice is whatever we deem it to be on a case-by-case basis. It?s just as well that we don?t believe in fair trials because we damned sure don?t have them. The presumption of innocence is now the presumption of guilt. The burden of proof is a travesty because the proof is often lies. Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt means if he probably did it, then let?s get him off the streets."

"Very few writers understand the complex history and maddening social order of the Mississippi Delta. For Steve Yarbrough, though, it's home turf. He is wickedly observant, funny, cynical, evocative, and he possesses a gift that cannot be taught: he can tell a story."

"Unit Nine is far away from the other units, with enough chain link and razor wire around it to stop Ike on the beaches of Normandy."

"West Virginia elects its judges, which is an abomination."

"What?s on the outside to prevent their return? They are now convicted felons, a branding they will never be able to shake. The odds were stacked against them to begin with, and now that they?re tagged as felons, life in the free world is somehow supposed to improve? These are the real casualties of our wars. The war on drugs. The war on crime. Unintended victims of tough laws passed by tough politicians over the past forty years. One million young black men now warehoused in decaying prisons."

"When witnesses concoct lies, they often miss the obvious."

"When the State, with its limitless resources, commences a fraudulent case and cheats at every turn, then cheating is legitimized. There is no level playing field. There is no fairness. The only honorable alternative for a lawyer fighting to save an innocent client is to cheat in defense."

"Why bother with a trial? If the cops can?t convict with evidence, they use the media to convict with suspicion."

"When you have no future, you live in the past, and Lonny would be stuck there forever."

"With nothing to lose, David decided to roll the dice."

"With a six-figure income guaranteed for the rest of his life, Lamar could enjoy the twelve-hundred-dollar tailored suits that hung so comfortably from his tall, athletic frame."

"Writing was not a childhood dream of mine. I do not recall longing to write as a student. I wasn't sure how to start."

"When you work at street level you never know who's going to walk through your door."

"With the door locked, usually around 3:00 p.m. Everyone who worked at the law firm of Boone & Boone knew that Woods was upstairs, shoes off, feet on the desk, phone on Do Not Disturb, snoring away for thirty minutes every afternoon. You can tough it out, his father added. Theo?s problem at this moment was his habit of trying to avoid school. Headaches, coughs, food poisoning, pulled muscles, stomach gas?Theo had tried them all and would try them again. He didn?t hate school; in fact, he usually enjoyed it once he got there. He made good grades and enjoyed his friends. Theo, though, wanted to be at the courthouse, watching trials and hearings, listening to the lawyers and judges, chatting with the policemen and the clerks, even the janitors. Theo knew them all. There?s another reason I can?t go to school, he said, though he knew this was a battle he would not win. Let?s hear it, his mother said. Okay, there?s a manhunt underway, and I need to go help. How often do we have a manhunt in Strattenburg? This is a big deal, especially since it?s my close friend they?re looking for."

"You burn a man's pickup, and he's ready for war."

"Writing's still the most difficult job I've ever had - but it's worth it."

"You live your life today, not tomorrow, and certainly not yesterday."