We’re back in Mississippi, the birthplace of John Grisham and his favourite fictional haunt. A widow, Celeste Wood, has taken on the might of the U.S tobacco industry, in another of a long line of "product-liability" cases. Celeste’s husband had a three pack a day habit, presumably the reason he died at 51 from lung cancer. And so begins a story of Big Business, Big Tobacco, jury selection and the true price of victory. What’s really good is Grisham’s twist on the point of view we usually get in legal thrillers – this time it’s not through the eyes of a lawyer, but essentially from the perspective of a juror. And since any one of us could be a juror, it seems more relevant. We learn heaps about the ins and outs of jury selection in the U.S, and what an eye-opener it is for the average reader! If you think it’s all exaggerated, see The legal point. And the dynamics of the jury room are quite fascinating, to say nothing of what they get up to in the motel! We also liked the mysterious character who acts as the liaison between the hero and Big Tobacco (Marlee), and the terror that she strikes into the coterie of tobacco lawyers and their more powerful minders. The other wonderful character is the conniving Rankin, who manages to get under our skin as a shameless manipulator. Here at Law in the Lounge we found the conspiracy theory of Big Tobacco a little hard to swallow (as is their smoke!). We had no problems with the machinations of jury selection, but the bribery, etc sounded far-fetched (then again, we thought the "dingo stole my baby" theory was a load of…!). The major problem with this book is that Grisham constantly reminds us that the tobacco industry is evil – well, thanx John, but I think we sort of had that idea pretty much down by now. What’s next? An expose of the depravity of heroin dealers in the schoolyard? Product liability is a branch of U.S law. It deals with the responsibility of manufacturers to consumers, especially to warn their customers about any dangers with the product they have manufactured. Whether the case in ''The Runaway Jury'' will succeed depends on what lawyers call the "foreseeability" of the harmful consequences – do tobacco companies have a responsibility to warn smokers of the dangers of cigarettes? If you want to check out more on this fascinating topic, read the brilliant ''Ashes to Ashes: America's Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health, and the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris'' by Richard Kluger. So you think Grisham’s stuff about U.S. jury selection is over the top? Let’s take a look at the jury selection process: an ample number of prospective jurors are called together in "jury duty" – this is known as a "panel". Then comes the lottery – your name is called, and the lawyers have a go at you. If they don’t like you they can "challenge" your participation, usually because one of them claims you will not be able to come to a decision without prejudice. Read on to see how the lawyers can get some help in this area. Check this out: first, there are "Focus Groups", where a mock jury is brought together with a lawyer who road-tests their approach to an upcoming court case. Then there’s the mock trial – this mimics the real case in a courtroom replica, and the lawyers get to see how the case might proceed in the real world. Finally, as "The Runaway Jury" depicts in detail, there is the jury selection process. There are U.S. consultants who do "jury research" – they keep a database of the way juries react in similar fact cases; send private detectives out to check on the private lives of prospective jurors; keep track of potential jurors’ body language. This gives the lawyers an edge when it comes to jury selection. For example, if you are the plaintiff’s lawyer in an action against an oil company, you would want to know if prospective juror X once lost his job at the hands of a multi-national corporation. You have to wonder about this sort of thing, and hope it doesn’t catch on in Australia. It’s usually only corporations in civil suits that can afford this type of insurance – how much does it cost to check out the demographics in areas where a case is to be heard? You know that bank that John Grisham was laughing all the way to? – he bought it!! He’s the Bill Gates of legal fiction; the Rupert Murdoch of thriller writers; the Stephen Spielberg of…..well, you get the idea! By any standards, he has achieved a remarkable success, so much so that his publishers proclaim him the world’s best selling author. He was born in Arkansas (pronounced "Arkansaw"), the same state that Bill Clinton calls home. He got a degree in accounting (handy now that he has all that money to count!) and (tick, tick, tick…) yes, Law, from the fabled "Ole Miss" (a University in Mississippi). Now, most lawyers go on to practice in a pretty dull routine – surrounded by wills and land titles, they spend their days buried in more paper than a recycling centre. This might be good enough for your everyday hack, or even your ego-driven corporate type, but Grisham had different ideas. Like the actor that longs to direct, there is an author deep inside many trial lawyers. In some ways it goes with the territory – after all, most legal arguments are a fiction in themselves. You strut the stage of the court, pulling the threads of a plot together to make a persuasive story. Isn’t that what they say a novel is from the reader’s point of view – a willing suspension of disbelief? In other words, if you connect the dots, and make it seem real, the reader will go along for the ride. And as any trial lawyer will tell you, that’s pretty much the same thing you want from a judge and jury. Grisham was born in 1955, which makes all those baby-boomer lawyers with a mid life crisis all the more sick with envy! He worked as a criminal and personal injuries lawyer for 10 years, and as a sideline, got himself elected to the State House of Representatives to boot! But it was not law or politics that really challenged his overactive intellect – in 1984 he started to write his first novel, and three years later "A Time To Kill" was finished. By the time that first novel was published he was well into "The Firm". He could not have imagined how this enterprise would forever change his life, and would set the trend for the new wave of legal fiction. And if he saw himself as the alter ego of Mitch, the hero in "The Firm", who better to star in the film role than Tom Cruise? From there it was one roller-coaster success after another. Each new novel goes straight to the top of the best-seller list, to be closely followed by a hit movie. "The Pelican Brief" was published in 1992, "The Client" in 1993, "The Chamber" in 1994, "The Rainmaker" in 1995, "The Runaway Jury" in 1996, "The Partner" in 1997. It seems like an annual event nowadays – if it’s Spring, there must be a new Grisham on the shelves! Often the paperback is released at the same time as the new hardcover – and they both occupy the number one spots on their respective best-seller lists. There is something different about this Grisham thriller – maybe he put a bit more time into it, maybe he’s got a bee in his bonnet about smoking – whatever, this is his best effort since "A Time To Kill". Or perhaps it’s just that the time has come for the tobacco industry in its battle for the hearts and lungs of the public! But this time Grisham has fashioned a topical story that builds suspensefully to an unexpected climax. This is a good example of Grisham’s hobbyhorse – the underdog who goes to battle with the big boys and wins (isn’t there a story in the Old Testament that sounds similar?). You will find yourself questioning that bastion of justice, the jury, and by the end you may not be as keen as you once were about this supposed foundation of the legal system. Want us to tell you when we review another book ? Read this: The legal information contained above is intended to be general information about the law. It is not a substitute for legal and other professional advice. Lawscape Communications P/L does not accept responsibility for loss to any person, who either acts or does not act because of this information. |