BOOK REVIEW

This month we've decided to review a resource book for the process of a trial. We thought this book would be a nice change of pace.

DAVID: The copyright on the book is 1997 which is pretty current, but maybe not current enough. Either that or possibly the proceedings and speeches provided within may be a tad dated. I have a friend whom is a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles and she informed me that some of the wording and facts are off...at least as far as how things are done in L.A. courts today.

JASON: I agree that the age of the book may not give it complete accuracy, but when have we ever seen a movie that is a courtroom drama that is really accurate? NEVER. Having sat on a jury, I can say that what happens in court in reality is terrible drama. It doesn't even have enough going on that is remotely interesting for a documentary. If there is anybody out there that feels they need to write a story that sticks to the letter of what really happens in court, the way it really plays out, I would like to say "Thank you for making sure I won't have to compete with you for a job." That kind of script would drive people to tear their eyes out.

DAVID: This is a very good point...something I neglected to mention. I'm not sure if there is any occupation that could be transferred straight to the big screen for an audience's consumption. Everything I can think of has "log sawing" written all over it. That is the key difference between fiction and non-fiction. In fiction, we manipulate the story for maximum dramatic effect. We up the ante and toss complete realism to the side in the name of fiction.

This book lays out beautifully who is positioned where (i.e. judge, bailiff, court reporter) and what they typically say. Unfortunately, my friend added that the speeches seem to be dated as well. Although, in the author's defense, he does point out that the details of courtroom procedure vary from state to state as each state jealously guards its right to run its judicial system as it pleases. These serve as good starting points for a writer when sitting down to write your courtroom scenes. However, it is obviously ideal to visit the courthouse you are writing about whenever possible. You can't get any more realistic than that.

JASON: I don't think people should look to any kind of reference book to see how a speech would play out. I think the best thing somebody could do is go down to their local court for a day and just sit in on some trials. That would give enough sense of how the speeches are delivered to write a courtroom drama speech that at least seemed realistic. I think where this book is beneficial, is in how it can give an overview of courtroom proceedings.

DAVID: Michael Kurland takes a case through all stages and everything in between. From the discovery of the crime to dealing with suspects and the jury to documents and witnesses. Very complete as far as the process goes.

JASON: I do like the way the author breaks down the entire process for the layman. He doesn't get into gritty, boring detail, but gives enough so somebody can write what they need to write.

DAVID: I thought the book was broken down very well, lending itself to be a pretty effective reference tool for the writer writing a courtroom scene involving a murder trial. The author creates a fictional murder and takes us from the crime being committed through the verdict being read. While working on a psychological thriller script, I was interested in making the limited courtroom scenes as accurate as possible. I knew of so many great reference books on crime, but I couldn't find one on legal matters or murder trials. Fortunately, I located this book in a used bookstore.

JASON: I agree that there are tons of books about the pre-trial aspects of crime and the criminal, but for the person that wants to write about what happens afterwards, good luck! This is the only book I've seen on the trial subject.

DAVID: The first area that I needed assistance in was that of defense tactics. I needed to understand what possibilities were out there even though I'd already thought about it a little for my script. Mr. Kurland gives a list of tactics the defense could use for the example case that he breaks down throughout the book. Also, he goes into great depth regarding the insanity defense tactic.

JASON: I think these are good, but again, I would warn that a writer use these as a guideline and not to stick to his examples harshly. I would suggest that this section be read carefully, and then come up with some of your own. See how many other possibilities you can think of for defense and compare them to his examples. This will keep your writing fresh and may be a good exercise for brainstorming great possibilities for your story that you may not have considered before. Use these as inspiration, not a map.

DAVID: A very good suggestion for increasing the odds of adding unique twist to your story. This is probably not an easy area to research, but it could have a really big payoff for your story. Another area that I was clueless in was that of the dialogue for an opening statement. This book helped immensely by providing a complete speech of a prosecutor's opening statement.

JASON: I did like that he gives a full example for the opening speech. Real world examples are sometimes the clearest way to illustrate what can be done.

DAVID: Another very helpful section was that of "objections". I suppose I could've rented a bunch of "Perry Mason" videotapes, but I figured there had to be a quicker way and this section of the book came through quite well. He lists eight of the most common objections used in court (i.e. "no proper foundation has been laid", "that calls for speculation on the part of the witness" etc.).

JASON: These are good because by showing what is most common as a guide will help keep the writer from doing something that is so drastically different that it jolts people out of the story. But again, I would do some more research on this area because it may be a great twist in a plot to show a lawyer making an objection that is perhaps obscure (but accurate) or rare (but not unheard of) to make a major break. And the best drama is the kind we don't expect.

DAVID: Very true...a two hundred page book isn't going to answer all possible questions regarding the legal/court systems.

I'd like to mention that I didn't purchase this book as a replacement for consulting a professional criminal attorney, however, it did make a major difference in the number of changes that were necessary in my script after my attorney friend gave it a read. The last thing I wanted to do was end up writing my courtrooms scenes based on faint memories of feature films like "Class Action", "Presumed Innocent" or "The Verdict". I would say that my only real criticisms would be that the areas of "opening statements" and that of "objections" could have been more thoroughly covered. However, the book wasn't particularly written as a reference tool for fiction writers so I can't gripe too much here.

JASON: Well, again we agree that there are sections that could have been explored more, but then, I don't think I've read a book on any subject that I haven't felt that way when I was done with it. I do think that one of the strengths of the book is that it isn't written to be a specific guide to writing a trial, but merely show how a trial works for the layman.

FINAL RATINGS:

Jason: *** (3 out of 4 stars)
David: *** (3 out of 4 stars)

This book can be purchased through Barnes & Noble or Amazon at the following links:

• Purchase at Barnes and Noble.com
• Purchase at Amazon.com