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c90f6b0
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Like so many, this trial is not about the truth; it's about winning.
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John Grisham |
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bfd043e
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if you don't think about death, you don't appreciate life.
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John Grisham |
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01f4ec8
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I've never understood people who grind through a book they don't really like, determined to finish it for some unknown reason.
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John Grisham |
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1f682c0
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But [Stanley Wade] instead removed his glasses and wiped his eyes. They were moist not from fear but from the harsh reality of being confronted by one of his victims. How many others were out there? Why had he chosen to spend his career screwing these people?
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John Grisham |
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1df47bb
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He'd had his career, his triumphs. Success had brought him nothing but misery; he couldn't handle it. Success had thrown him in the gutter
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John Grisham |
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a6526ce
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What would his friends think? The Honorable Hatlee Beech, federal judge, writing prose like a faggot, extorting money out of innocent people.
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John Grisham |
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ed29e70
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I believe in God," he said, truthfully but weakly. "It's easy to say that," she said, her words still slow and soft. "And I don't doubt you. But saying is one thing, living is another matter."
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John Grisham |
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e8c0645
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fear was good; fear was an ally; that every lawyer was afraid when he stood before a new jury and presented his case. It was okay to be afraid - just don't show it.
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John Grisham |
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37ec857
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My children know nothing of Christmas. They have so little, and want so little, it makes me feel guilty for the mindless materialism of our culture.
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John Grisham |
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f605fa5
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We were invincible because we were eighteen and stupid.
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John Grisham |
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e570c27
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And until we can see each other as equals, justice is never going to be even-handed. It will remain nothing more than a reflection of our own prejudices
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John Grisham |
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8c5cb86
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F. Franklin the Fourth has a job with a firm rich in heritage, money and pretentiousness, a firm vastly superior to Brodnax and Speer. His sidekicks at the moment are W. Harper Whittenson, an arrogant little snot who will, thankfully, leave Memphis and practice with a mega-firm in Dallas; J. Townsend Gross, who has accepted a position with another huge firm; and James Straybeck, a sometimes friendly sort who's suffered three years of law sc..
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John Grisham |
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0554d02
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But such a cheap shot from a sibling can never be left alone.
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John Grisham |
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67dede5
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Perhaps in another era, a trial was an exercise in the presentation of facts, the search for truth, and the finding of justice. Now a trial is a contest in which one side will win and the other side will lose. Each side expects the other to bend the rules or to cheat, so neither side plays fair. The truth is lost in the melee.
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John Grisham |
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d9acdbd
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And I'm sure Theo can always find her.
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John Grisham |
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dbfcf1c
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After a leisurely slide into second, Joe bounced to his feet, looked at Marichal, shrugged, smiled, and spread his arms as if to say, "You throw at me, I'll make you pay." --
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joe-castle
john-grisham
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John Grisham |
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0caccee
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I learned a long time ago not to waste time analyzing why judges do the things they do.
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John Grisham |
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703c8c0
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I thought they were honest.' 'They are, but they're bankers, remember.
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John Grisham |
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8a90d5b
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A hundred years earlier, in Hopt v. Utah, the Supreme Court ruled that a confession is not admissible if it is obtained by operating on the hopes or fears of the accused, and in doing so deprives him of the freedom of will or self-control necessary to make a voluntary statement. In 1897, the Court, in Bram v. United States, said that a statement must be free and voluntary, not extracted by any sorts of threats or violence or promises, howev..
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John Grisham |
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18e3928
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Okay, let's pretend to be friends. Just two friends having dinner." "That doesn't work in the South. A male friend cannot have dinner with a female friend if the male friend has a wife. It just doesn't work down here." "Why not?" "Because men don't have female friends. No way. I don't know of a single man in the entire South who is married and has a female friend. I think it goes back to the Civil War." "I think it goes back to the Dark Age..
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grisham
the-south
men-and-women
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John Grisham |
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e8f9b69
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Do you read them? Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald?" "Only if I have to. I try to avoid old dead white men."
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reading
faulkner
camino-island
john-grisham
old-dead-white-men
hemingway
fitzgerald
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John Grisham |
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b63d409
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You're old. You're senile. You're too calm about this. Something must be wrong..." "Wonderful. I'll pull out my hair and chase butterflies around the room."
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John Grisham |
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a2a040c
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Sistrunk looked angrily at Lettie and said, "I'm allowed to be paid for my time and expenses, plus there is the matter of the loans. When can I expect the money?" "In due course," Jake said. "I want it now." "Well, you're not getting it now." "Then I'll sue." "Fine. I'll defend." "And I'll preside," Judge Atlee said. "I'll give you a trial date in about four years."
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grisham
legal-thriller
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John Grisham |
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f439341
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A lawyer had to be himself in the courtroom, and if he was afraid, so be it. The jurors were afraid too. Make friends with fear, Lucien always said, because it will not go away, and it will destroy you if left uncontrolled.
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John Grisham |
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40afb21
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There's an old adage in bad trial lawyering that when you don't have the facts, do a lot of yelling.
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John Grisham |
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d576537
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Our clients are our only assets, so we kill ourselves for them.
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John Grisham |
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590fc8e
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her mind was wonderfully uncluttered with the nagging irritations of everyday life.
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John Grisham |
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7515030
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You're beautiful," he said. "When was the last time I told you that you are beautiful?" "About two hours ago." "Two hours! How thoughtless of me!" "Don't let it happen again." He"
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John Grisham |
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4e1c31c
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He did smile at her, though, but she did not return the smile. Her teeth were somewhere in the house.
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John Grisham |
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a0b47c8
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Sistrunk looked angrily at Lettie and said, "I'm allowed to be paid for my time and expenses, plus there is the matter of the loans. When can I expect the money?" "In due course," Jake said. "I want it now." "Well, you're not getting it now." "Then I'll sue." "Fine. I'll defend." "And I'll preside," Judge Atlee said. "I'll give you a trial date in about four years."
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John Grisham |
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3b7c472
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When you were in law school you had some noble idea of what a lawyer should be. A champion of individual rights; a defender of the Constitution; a guardian of the oppressed; an advocate for your client's principles. Then after you practice for six months you realize we're nothing but hired guns. Mouthpieces for sale to the highest bidder, available to anybody, any crook, any sleazebag with enough money to pay our outrageous fees. Nothing sh..
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John Grisham |
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6e6f9fa
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How often would I have the chance to see a pretty girl bathing? I could recall no specific prohibition from the church or the Scriptures, though I knew it was wrong. But maybe it wasn't terribly sinful.
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John Grisham |
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11a1be1
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I wished i were seven feet tall. I'd hop up there and attack ol' Samson while the crowd went wild. I'd whip him good, send him flying, and become the biggest hero in Black Oak. But, for now, I could only boo him.
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John Grisham |
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b85fde1
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One good thing about jail is that it allows you to think a lot.
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John Grisham |
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b641bbc
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Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt means if he probably did it, then let's get him off the streets.
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John Grisham |
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f1e648e
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When you wake up tomorrow, another day is behind you. The days add up; the weeks run together; the months become years.
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John Grisham |
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d8629e3
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I was guilty all right. Guilty of stupidity for allowing myself to fall into such a mess.
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John Grisham |
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dcd85e2
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If a prosecutor gets caught cheating, he either gets reelected or elevated to the bench. Our system never holds a bad prosecutor accountable.
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John Grisham |
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e5d5663
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And it's often the one you trust the most who'll cut your throat for the right price.
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John Grisham |
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1c5041a
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Sadly, dissent nowadays is considered unpatriotic, and in our post-9/11 atmosphere any criticism of those in uniform, any uniform, is stifled. Being labeled soft on crime or soft on terror is a politician's curse.
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John Grisham |
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f17267b
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He hadn't hit her in several years, but when you've been beaten you never forget it. The bruises go away but the scars remain, deep, hidden, raw. You stay beaten. It takes a real coward to beat a woman.
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John Grisham |
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b1b31d4
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Relief, fear, and humiliation. Her parents paid for a pricey prep school education in D.C. She graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown with a degree in political science. She breezed through law school and finished with honors. A dozen megafirms offered her jobs after a federal court clerkship. The first twenty-nine years of her life had seen overwhelming success and little failure. To be discharged in such a manner was crushing. To be es..
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John Grisham |
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5c92d15
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These are mistakes, not regrets. Regrets are over and done with and a waste of time to rehash. Mistakes, though, are bad moves in the past that might affect the future.
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John Grisham |
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6c4cf22
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Once you've seen a pretty girl naked, you feel a certain attachment to her.
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John Grisham |