Bronx Justice

by Joseph Teller

It is the late 1970s and criminal defense attorney Harrison J. Walker, better known as Jaywalker for his rebellious tactics, is struggling to build his own practice when he receives a call from a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778326357
• ISBN13: 9780778326359
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Mira Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

1979 "Justice" written from 2010 perspective

Another great trial story by Joseph Teller which takes the author back to a 1979 case (before DNA), etc. when juries and prosecutors relied heavily on eye-witness identifications of suspects. Great read for those interested in courtroom drama.

Truth Often Stranger Than Fiction

A couple of chapters into Joseph Teller's "Bronx Justice" I felt a strange feeling. I couldn't be sure, but the more I read, I became more certain: This was no novel. Although in form it is, and has all the right qualifications, it is a roman a clef, the true story of a young lawyer at the outset of his career on one of the most difficult, gut-wrenching, heart-bursting cases he will ever take to trial. At that point I began strongly suspecting, besides the fact that Teller's debut novel was "The Tenth Case" (see my review), that "Justice" was in the can long before "Tenth." That Teller's publisher looked down its reading glasses and wondered if he was a one-trick pony. A tentative deal was made: We'll buy your book, but we want to see if you can write another one. "Tenth" was born and published before "Justice". And Teller's third novel, "Depraved Indifference", published third. There is something about all three of these books that grabbed my attention. First, all of them are a little too long. But to reduce the volume of the bodies of work, which never drag, would be an injustice. Because Teller is a real-life trial lawyer and what he has to say about the nuances of courts and criminal litigation procedure should make all his books required reading in law schools. Especially "Bronx Justice." Not since that great forgotten classic of the 1950s, Erle Stanley Gardner's "The Court of Last Resort", has any courtroom drama writing rung so true and crystal clear as a bell. "Bronx Justice" is the story of a man Teller here calls Darren Kingston, a young black man in his early 20s accused of raping five white women in what in the 1980s was a predominantly white housing project. As the jury pool is predominantly white. As the deck of cards continues being viciously stacked against Teller's protagonist, the attorney known as Jaywalker, it consumes and tortures him. More than once do we see him in his private moments break down and cry. It appears to be an unwinnable case, the one where Jaywalker who in his later years becomes an ace, makes all his first mistakes. Things get so bad Jaywalker's client, near story's end, is actually convicted. And that's where the magnificence of this story begins.

"Bronx Justice" - Whose Life Is It Anyway?

Reviewed by J.Litman (New York) I first met up with Jaywalker in "The Tenth Case". I was looking forward to reading more of Jay; and along came "Bronx Justice". Was I disappointed? Was Teller a one-book wonder? Absolutely not! If you have ever been in a courtroom, whether as a defendent, juror, witness, etc., then you easily recognize the ups and downs in this courtroom drama. Will Darren be found innocent of the rape charges or guilty? What makes Jay so sure Darren is telling the truth? Would you put Darren on the stand in his defense? Do you believe all those victims? Do you believe the police, the prosecutor, the judge? Joseph Teller has written another well paced thriller that will keep the reader guessing until the very end. Kudos to Teller; let's have more of Jay!

Stunning courtroom drama

This is the second in the Jaywalker series of novels, but it takes place 30 years before the first one, which is The Tenth Case (MIRA). So even if you have not read the first book, you will not have to worry about missing information for this one. These days most of the legal dramas are in the "thriller" genre, with fewer of them concentrating on the criminal trial process itself. This book is purely about the legal process of a criminal trial with no outside danger. Because there is no sense of impending danger to keep the reader turning the pages and the legal process can be pretty boring, the story has to provide the sense of urgency to keep readers going. The author does it very well. In the first book in the series, Jaywalker is an experienced criminal defense lawyer known for cutting corners and pulling shady stunts that have gotten his license to practice law suspended. In this book, Jaywalker is still a young attorney recently out of the public defenders office and trying to build a solo criminal defense practice. He's had some success but hasn't yet learned all the tricks that will eventually get him into trouble. He is retained by the family of a young black man accused of raping 5 white or Hispanic women. The book starts with the middle of the night phone call from the defendant's mother and follows the process of the case. The author gives plenty of suspense just in wondering if his client is really as innocent as he claims to be (despite four women who insist he is their attacker) and whether Jaywalker is going to get him acquitted. The pace of the book and the narrative makes the reader feel Jaywalker's anxiety over the fact that he has won acquittals for clients he knows are guilty but he might lose this case for a client he believes might be innocent. The sense of urgency Jaywalker feels as the legal process grinds on, and the various lengths to which he will go to try to prove his client is innocent, are the fuel that keeps the reader engrossed in the story. The time period of the case is interesting because the law and science involved in rape trials has changed dramatically since the 1970s. Because of the familiarity with shows like the Law & Order and CSI franchises, readers know that if this case had occurred today, DNA evidence would have proved whether or not Jaywalker's client had raped those women. And the fingerprint evidence would have been easier to process. I really enjoy courtroom drama-style novels and this one is definitely worth reading. I kept wanting to skip ahead to the end to see what happened but forced myself to read it in order and am glad I did. If you enjoy legal fiction, especially the courtroom drama type, this one should be on your "must read" list. The author has years of experience as a criminal defense lawyer and it shows. The notes at the back of the book indicate this was based on an actual case and an actual client he represented. I expect he has had more interesting case

deep look at injustice, American style

In 1979 former legal aid attorney Harrison J. Walker struggles to make a success of his legal practice having gone private because he could no longer handle the stupidity of what was expected of him; which rarely was in the interest of his indigent client. In the middle of the night Jay receives a call from a distressed woman who begs him to defend her son. Inez Kingston says her adult child Darren has been accused of five counts of rape. Jay agrees to defend Darren. In the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, five different women picked Darren as their attacker. The DA believes it has an iron-clad case. Jay reluctantly agrees, but will insure he mounts the best defense he can. After interviewing his client, Jay begins to believe perhaps Darren is innocent. However, with each woman adamant even Jay goes back to his original position of guilty. Still as this case works through the process, Jay knows this case has fundamentally changed how he looks at the system. Decades later with his spouse dead for ten years and their daughter in her thirties, he knows the Castle Hill rapist case will always haunt him. Jaywalker's second legal thriller (see THE TENTH CASE) is once again an insightful look at the dysfunctional American jurisprudence system from the perspective of an attorney whose outlook on defending his clients is much different than the typical lawyer. This case occurs much earlier than the previous book as this time the relatively inexperienced Jaywalker learns the tricks of the trade in a defense that haunts him three decades later. With a historical feel to the pre-DNA legal system of the 1970s, fans will enjoy Joseph Teller's deep look at injustice, American style. Harriet Klausner