| Press Title |
118 pages, Price $16.00
ISBN 978-0-9789597-4-6
ISBN 978-0-9789597-4-6
“Art Campbell provides us with brilliant flashes of insight into the mysterious workings
of the legal system. His prose poems are heart-wrenching, powerful, compelling. As an
insider, Campbell is in a unique position to provide vivid glimpses at the colorful
characters on both sides of the law. His prose poems are full of compassion and a
generosity of spirit. In sharing with us his ‘tales from the trenches,’ he reveals the heart
and soul of a young trial lawyer.”
— Nancy Kim, lawyer and author of critically acclaimed novel, CHIMHOMINEY’s SECRET.
of the legal system. His prose poems are heart-wrenching, powerful, compelling. As an
insider, Campbell is in a unique position to provide vivid glimpses at the colorful
characters on both sides of the law. His prose poems are full of compassion and a
generosity of spirit. In sharing with us his ‘tales from the trenches,’ he reveals the heart
and soul of a young trial lawyer.”
— Nancy Kim, lawyer and author of critically acclaimed novel, CHIMHOMINEY’s SECRET.
Proceeds from the sale of Trial & Error will be donated to the Innocence Project at
California Western School of Law San Diego, California.
California Western School of Law San Diego, California.
THE WEIRD CASE
In law the right answer usually depends on putting
the right question. -— Felix Frankfurter
What can you do with an unlawful pistol-discharge case
when your client is a marshal who confessed he’d shot his
gun for kicks? In this case the clue to stay alert was
signaled by my client’s name: Warren B. Weird.
At 4 a.m. two cruiser cops heard a gunshot, saw a speeding
car, and chased Weird through a “high-crime area,” cop code
for most of Washington, D.C. When they stopped and
questioned him he candidly replied he fired at a wall
for fun. They seized him and his smoking gun.
With a potential jail sentence of one year, the accusation
seemed an easy prosecution win, given gunshots, pistol,
and a full confession on the spot.
“It was a stupid thing to do, Mr. Campbell, but it was dark,
and no one was around. I shot inside a vacant lot. I’d been
to a party and just learned my pregnant sister’s going to
give her kid my name.”
Warren, handsome, slim, well dressed was twenty-nine,
living with his wife and two sons in a deeply mortgaged
home. His prior Air Force record was exemplary, as were
evals as a deputy U.S. Marshal. If found guilty Weird
would lose his job; any jail time would doom his house
and wreck his family.
How could I fulfill my oath to “render vigorous defense”
against a slam-dunk prosecution case? Even swapping
Warren’s guilty plea for probation would cost his job,
a prosecution offer he refused to buy.
(find out how this and many other cases turned out in this
unique look at the law through the eyes of a young lawyer
deeply concerned with freedom, justice and how to put it
down with the voice of a poet.)
In law the right answer usually depends on putting
the right question. -— Felix Frankfurter
What can you do with an unlawful pistol-discharge case
when your client is a marshal who confessed he’d shot his
gun for kicks? In this case the clue to stay alert was
signaled by my client’s name: Warren B. Weird.
At 4 a.m. two cruiser cops heard a gunshot, saw a speeding
car, and chased Weird through a “high-crime area,” cop code
for most of Washington, D.C. When they stopped and
questioned him he candidly replied he fired at a wall
for fun. They seized him and his smoking gun.
With a potential jail sentence of one year, the accusation
seemed an easy prosecution win, given gunshots, pistol,
and a full confession on the spot.
“It was a stupid thing to do, Mr. Campbell, but it was dark,
and no one was around. I shot inside a vacant lot. I’d been
to a party and just learned my pregnant sister’s going to
give her kid my name.”
Warren, handsome, slim, well dressed was twenty-nine,
living with his wife and two sons in a deeply mortgaged
home. His prior Air Force record was exemplary, as were
evals as a deputy U.S. Marshal. If found guilty Weird
would lose his job; any jail time would doom his house
and wreck his family.
How could I fulfill my oath to “render vigorous defense”
against a slam-dunk prosecution case? Even swapping
Warren’s guilty plea for probation would cost his job,
a prosecution offer he refused to buy.
(find out how this and many other cases turned out in this
unique look at the law through the eyes of a young lawyer
deeply concerned with freedom, justice and how to put it
down with the voice of a poet.)
| TRIAL & ERROR The Education of a Freedom Lawyer Volume One: For the Defense prose poems by Arthur W. Campbell |
Read reviews by Pat Browne, Christopher N. Green and Thomas Larson on Amazon.com.
LAW STUDENT REVIEWS
OF TRIAL & ERROR Part One
“The book is amazing! It definitely was a page turner…
The book showed the realities of being a lawyer and the
effects it can have on your life, physically and
emotionally…. It was great and an eye-opener into the
complicated world of criminal law….I can’t wait for a
sequel!”
“TRIAL & ERROR has re-ignited my passion for law….
Every story taught me something about criminal law. I
would recommend this book to anyone considering or
enrolled in law school. The book is an exceptional
account of the battles won and lost in the world of
freedom lawyering and the pursuit of justice.”
“TRIAL & ERROR is very insightful not only to criminal
law but to the world of legal practice and life. Each case
captured an important lesson of being an attorney….
The book is an interesting, honest insight into the
criminal law that I’ve never experienced before…. It has
given me a much more realistic idea of what the field of
criminal law is out in the real world.
“The book provides comical relief and hope for
someone with the aspiration of one day achieving
success as a trial lawyer…. From the moment I picked
up this book I was immediately rejuvenated.”
“TRIAL & ERROR has shown me that rapport with clients
and people in general makes an outstanding lawyer…. It
also highlights mistakes made by the budding defense
attorney and what was learned from them…. I too
struggle with public speaking and eloquence. Reading
of the author’s struggle inspired me….The cases
exemplify what is essential to becoming a successful
trial lawyer.”
“After reading TRIAL & ERROR my perspective on
defense attorneys has completely changed….The book
is truly inspiring and a big eye-opener….. The entire
book was a learning experience…. The cases all seemed
to cover different moral dilemmas…. I am more
inclined to become an attorney, so that I can fight
injustices such as these.”
OF TRIAL & ERROR Part One
“The book is amazing! It definitely was a page turner…
The book showed the realities of being a lawyer and the
effects it can have on your life, physically and
emotionally…. It was great and an eye-opener into the
complicated world of criminal law….I can’t wait for a
sequel!”
“TRIAL & ERROR has re-ignited my passion for law….
Every story taught me something about criminal law. I
would recommend this book to anyone considering or
enrolled in law school. The book is an exceptional
account of the battles won and lost in the world of
freedom lawyering and the pursuit of justice.”
“TRIAL & ERROR is very insightful not only to criminal
law but to the world of legal practice and life. Each case
captured an important lesson of being an attorney….
The book is an interesting, honest insight into the
criminal law that I’ve never experienced before…. It has
given me a much more realistic idea of what the field of
criminal law is out in the real world.
“The book provides comical relief and hope for
someone with the aspiration of one day achieving
success as a trial lawyer…. From the moment I picked
up this book I was immediately rejuvenated.”
“TRIAL & ERROR has shown me that rapport with clients
and people in general makes an outstanding lawyer…. It
also highlights mistakes made by the budding defense
attorney and what was learned from them…. I too
struggle with public speaking and eloquence. Reading
of the author’s struggle inspired me….The cases
exemplify what is essential to becoming a successful
trial lawyer.”
“After reading TRIAL & ERROR my perspective on
defense attorneys has completely changed….The book
is truly inspiring and a big eye-opener….. The entire
book was a learning experience…. The cases all seemed
to cover different moral dilemmas…. I am more
inclined to become an attorney, so that I can fight
injustices such as these.”
Description
Reviews
From TRIAL & ERROR
Nominated for the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards 2007.
| If poets and lovers of poetry don't write, publish, read, and purchase poetry books then we will have no say in the quality of our contemporary culture and no excuse for the abuses of language, ideas, truth, beauty, and love in our cultural life. |
 |
