An Insignificant Case by Phillip Margolin

(28. - 1271.) An Insignificant Case by Phillip Margolin - Charlie Webb is average in appearance. He was an average student in school and university, who scraped into Oxford School of Law, a below average law school. After graduating he sets up as a solo practitioner in Portland, Oregon as “nobody offered him a job”. 

Representing members of the Barbarians motorcycle club provides him with “steady customers”.

Charlie may be an average guy but he is above average in the courtroom. He deftly succeeds on an application claiming there was an illegal search of a Barbarians member’s car for drugs. He pins down the investigating Sergeant’s story of an inventory search and then exposes the truth by getting a rookie officier, testifying for the first time, to admit the Sergeant told him to search for drugs.

Charlie is chugging along when his life is upended by Guido Sabatani (he refuses to acknowledge his real name of Lawrence Weiss). While a mathematical genius, accomplished card counter and excellent painter, Guido is crazy. He asserts he is the re-incarnation of a Renaissance painter who studied with Da Vinci and Michaelangelo. Guido’s life is devoted to his art.

He creates a vivid impression for, at 6’4”, he is normally wearing “a white floor-length caftan that was secured at the waist by a gold rope. His thick blond hair flowed over his shoulders and his downy beard and moustache framed a beatific smile”.

Guido, having sold a painting to restaruanteur, Gretchen Hall, steals back the painting because she has it in her office and not on display in her restaurant. He takes a flash drive to have a bargaining chip to convince her to display the picture in the restaurant.

Charlie is his court appointed counsel. A simple case. All he has to do is persuade Guido to return the painting and charges will be dropped.

Before Charlie can deal with the case, Hall and movie producer, Leon Golden, are arrested for “running a sex ring that trafficked underage girls”.

The insignificant case becomes very significant when Guido is charged with murdering Hall and Golden’s bodyguard, Yuri Makarov.

Guido insists that either Charlie represent him or he will defend himself. I admired Charlie for doing his best to convince Guido he lacks the experience to conduct a murder trial. When he is promised experienced co-counsel he takes on the case. He is relieved when prominent Portland defence lawyer, Henry Roman, joins him. He is ecstatic when Roman agrees to be lead counsel.

The thriller element accelerates with an attack at Guido’s farm. Fortunately, while he is confident God will protect him Guido accepts security.

There are conspiracies afoot. When the allegations of abuse reach out to the rich and powerful it becomes impossible to know who you can trust. Charlie gives off a sense of naivete at times as he respects people but he realizes he must be suspicious when dealing with a conspiracy.

There are excellent twists I never saw coming.

There is more thriller than legal mystery. Usually I find lawyers in the midst of thrillers not credible but Charlie is an exception. He focused on being a lawyer.

There is a trial which involves the question of morality and the law. It is described as a conflict in the book rather than a question.

The trial is like a movie version of a trial where the questions are condensed to the bare minimum unlike Scott Turow’s books where the evidence and questioning by prosecutor and defence counsel are explored at length. The resolution is plausible.

What is striking is how little time is spent in the minds of the characters. We know something about the main characters but virtually nothing about the lesser characters beyond their actions.

Margolin is very skilled at driving the narrative and creating action scenes. I would have loved to have read more court scenes.