Fight ‘Em ‘Til We Can’t

If you’re a criminal defender looking for a great read, it sounds like you need look no further than Defending the Damned: Inside Chicago’s Cook County Public Defender’s Office by Kevin Davis:

Davis takes you behind the scenes with an elite and fascinating group of public defenders who handle only one kind of case: murder. In this dark corner of the criminal justice system, nothing is ever as it seems.

The book is due for release Monday, April 3, but you can get a good sense of it from this overview and interview with the author, which contains this gem:

“These are people who are rarely celebrated except among themselves,” Davis wrote in the author’s note to the book. “It’s not a job for those seeking approval. It’s a job for those willing to rattle cages, make enemies and raise hell. By raising hell, these lawyers honor the law.”

Rattling cages, making enemies, and raising hell — and protecting the constitution, too! (Not to mention getting paid for it.) Could there really be a better job on this planet? Really?

I’ll definitely have more to say about this book once I get a copy…