These lawyers are not the kind of people who are afraid. They’re not concerned what other people might think. That is one of the qualities I most admired about them. They are willing to do an unpopular job and live with the consequences. . . . You’re absolutely right that outsiders may be turned off. And outsiders may never fully understand or appreciate the value of public defenders, whether they read this book or not. I have a great respect and affection for those I wrote about, I think they felt the same.

PD Stuff has given Defending the Damned its own category, which includes PD Stuff’s own review of the book.

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…