Following Indians on Vacation Through Europe

As I was reading Indians on Vacation by Thomas King I was caught at how many of the European destinations to which Mimi and Bird had traveled had also been visited by Sharon and myself.

The focus of the book in Europe is Prague where they are staying in a modest hotel near the Charles Bridge. They walk across the bridge several times. Sharon, Jonathan, Michael and I visited Prague for a day in 1999 with Sharon’s cousins on a German bus tour from the Bavarian Forest. I remember all the statues on the bridge. I am sure we rubbed a couple. I cannot recall having ever been on another bridge with statues.

The Bull Shield’s first stop in following Uncle Leroy’s postcards from a 100 years ago was Paris. Just as their first memory of Paris is the Eiffel Tower so do we remember visiting that iconic world tourist site in 1981.

On another trip they visit Nice and Antibes along the Mediterranean coast. We have not made it to either city but we were at Monaco 20 kilometers away on a couple of cruises. Our highlight was visiting the Castle with several rooms devoted to Princess Grace. We sat one evening on the outdoor terrace of the cruise ship having supper as the sun set and the lights of Monaco came on. I told Sharon we were on the biggest yacht in the harbour.

Bird and Mimi enjoyed going to the village of Oia on the Greek island of Santorini. We visited the lovely town on the cliff on a bus tour. I think we had our photo taken in front of the “little blue domed church” mentioned by King. There are many lovely little family churches scattered around Santorini.

While Bird and Mimi walked down 300 steps to the ocean on Santorini instead of taking a donkey ride we took the more prosaic but definitely more comfortable third option of a cable car.

On the Greek mainland we also spent a short time in Athens. The Acropolis is truly one of the Wonders of the World. While we did not go out to villages such as Kymi and Maletiani where Bird’s grandfather grew up we enjoyed two different drives through the Greek countryside. On one of the tours we had a wonderful visit and meal at a Greek vineyard.

They mentioned the canals of Amsterdam and Venice. Sharon and I have taken a boat tour on Amsterdam’s canals and ridden a gondola in Venice.

In Amsterdam they visit the red light district. Mimi aptly describes the area as a “zoo for men”. We had a walk through the district with the passengers of our tour bus. At the end of the walk we realized two single guys had not completed the walk with us.

They arrive in Venice in winter when the city smells better. Their vaporetto “was hit by a wave from an enormous cruise ship that was lumbering its way out of the lagoon”. I am confident it was not our cruise ship as we were there at the end of October. The city did smell alright in fall.

Where we have not gone is Budapest. The Bull Shield’s are distressed over Syrian refugees crowded around the train station and never get to see the city for a day. Our son Michael told us Budapest was a beautiful city. 

Returning to Canada I have even been to Guelph where the fictional Bull Shield’s and the real life Thomas King and his partner reside. It was 1971 and I went to visit the University of Guelph to see the Apiary Department. While I did not see myself as an apiarist like my Dad it was interesting to learn about the only university in Canada with a Department offering classes on bees and beekeeping. (The university now has the Honey Bee Research Centre and the Beekeeping Lab.)

We did not follow the Bull Shield’s in seeking out examples of European fascination with North American Indians. Michael, who lived in Germany and studied German at university, has told me about German Apache Western movies where the Indians won.

****

King, Thomas - (2019) - DreadfulWater and The Humour of Thomas King; (2021) - Indians on Vacation

Indians on Vacation by Thomas King

(5. - 1077.) Indians on Vacation by Thomas King - Blackbird Mavrias and Mimi Bull Shield have a marriage in which Bird spends a lot of time listening to Mimi. Her opinions are endless. Bird has accepted it is easier to follow Mimi. 

Mimi, having decided they need to go on vacation so Bird can take his mind off his medical issues, has them in Prague on a quest. While the story of their vacation unfolds it is accompanied by the story of their personal lives. 

They live in Guelph. Mimi is from Standoff on the Blackfoot Reserve in southern Alberta. Her mother, Bernie Bull Shield, is “well supplied with strong opinions”. When they visit the Reserve Bird gets to listen to the views of mother and daughter on many subjects.

The morning after arriving in Prague Mimi is interested in the major tourist attractions such as the castle, the Charles bridge and the zoo. After reflection she decides upon the bridge. When Bird mentions they walked it the previous night Mimi says “Everything looks different in the light”. Upon the bridge of 30 statutes Bird knows some are more popular with spots “rubbed golden”. He concludes:

Evidently, one of the tourist activities in Prague is

statute rubbing.

They take photos of each other doing some rubbing. Mimi advises Bird he has rubbed the wrong spot on one statue. As they wander Prague they see more statues being rubbed.

Getting lost on their way to the Kafka Museum seems appropriate.

In Mimi’s search for experiences they eat at a North American Indian themed pizza place. In their travels they have visited several places and events in Europe showing the European fascination with North American Indians. They choose the Black Bear pizza over the Geronimo pizza.

Mimi lives life by the motto “you’re only old if you want to be old”. Bird is adept at negative thoughts.

In Canada she gave Bird the choice of therapy or a dog. When he chooses a dog they visit a shelter. They leave without a dog finding themselves unready to take an aging dog. Mimi buys Bird a small stuffed dog at a thrift store. She calls the dog Muffy:

“And when we travel,” says Mimi, “if the two of you become inseparable, we can throw her in a suitcase and take her with us.”

Bird would love to live on the west coast of Vancouver Island where it is never too hot nor too cold and “where the dominant colour is grey”. Mimi craves sunshine.

Their search in Prague involves Mimi’s long deceased Uncle Leroy Bull Shield. A traveling man in the early 1900’s Leroy disregards the pass system of the time. (For decades before 1950 Indians could not leave reserves in Canada without a pass from the Indian agent. South Africa adapted the system for apartheid. The pass system is but one of the forms of discrimination against Indians in Canadian history.) 

With Leroy’s attitude to the reserve Indian agent and his tendency to make ill-advised decisions when drunk trouble was inevitable. The conflict involved the creative use of cow poop. Leroy’s story is funny, satiric, sad and a very clever form of resistance.

Chased from the reserve he joins a traveling Wild West Show and goes to Europe never to return to the prairies. He takes with him the family bundle called the Crow bundle. A hundred years later Mimi and Bird search for the bundle on vacations.

As their time passes in Prague Bird and Mimi find the time in a foreign land prompts assessment of their lives and relationship. They are both senior citizens. They have not saved the world. They have learned a variety of life lessons. They are still together. They are people I wish I could meet whether on vacation or in Guelph.

There is the sly teasing humour throughout the book that I have experienced in talking with many of my Canadian Indian clients. There is an edge but rarely sarcasm. The humour nicks rather slicing deep into the psyche. My mother might have termed it saucy. King is the rare talent who can put to paper Indian irony. 

The story flows easily with the pages passing by. King is an excellent storyteller. Few books can keep me smiling while reflecting on cultures, historical injustices, personal demons, randomness on vacation and spousal relationships. It is a great book with the potential to be read long into the future. I enjoyed every page.

****

King, Thomas - (2019) - DreadfulWater and The Humour of Thomas King

Deep State by Chris Hauty

(4. - 1076.) Deep State by Chris Hauty - Hayley Chill, 5’ 8” and 125 pounds, is fighting Marcela Rivas, 6’1” and 145 pounds. Chill is a good boxer. Rivas is a great boxer. Chill is from ARSOUTH while Rivas is from 1st Armored Division to the north. Chill is proud to represent the U.S. Army Southern Command and intends more than a “valiant stand” against Rivas. She is a cunning battler who fights to win. Battered, with a broken nose, she baits Rivas into an attack and delivers a powerful counter punch that knocks out Rivas.

Leaving the army she moves to Washington, D.C. to intern at the office of Peter Hall, the White House chief of staff. 

Hall had been chosen by President Richard Monroe, a populist war hero, elected the previous year. Elected to bring change Monroe will rely on Hall’s long experience in Congress to “effect his controversial agenda”.

The pretty Chill, as a young woman with a West Virginia accent who had served in the military, is regularly underestimated. The former combat engineer, who came through a challenging upbringing ignores the condescension. She downplays her photographic memory.

Hauty has an unusual approach in discussing, after their introduction into the book, the future of characters long after the period covered by the book. It is intriguing while somewhat distracting.

President Monroe has bold initiatives. He considers NATO a “relic” and would like an “alternative, eastern Europe alliance reflective of the new world order”. Monroe is convinced that China is the greatest danger in the world. Alliances are needed to counter growing Chinese power. I was impressed that major geo-political issues are inserted into a conspiracy thriller.

Monroe’s confrontational style produced strong reactions. He has been reversing progressive programs and initiatives since being elected.

Hall tells her powerful forces want him and the President dead:

“The people who actually control this town, the shadow government. Of ‘deep state’. Call it what you will, they are a hybrid association of elements of government joined with parts of top-level finance and industry that effectively govern the United States, and without consent of the electorate …”

Chill finds Hall dead of an apparent heart attack yet there is  a recent footprint on the walkway outside his house. She must decide if his cause of death was natural or “the handiwork of a deep state conspiracy”.

Chill faces the challenge of everyone who has identified a conspiracy but not the conspirators. Who can she trust? 

Can the President really be at risk of assassination by the Deep State?

Chill decides to trust Asher Danes, a gay staffer at the White House. While clever and witty Asher has neither a military background nor martial fighting skills nor a steady mind when facing trouble. It is gender role reversal for a thriller. It will be up to Chill to handle the fighting.

Chill starts to unravel the conspiracy by being observant and thoughtful rather than violent and reckless.

The conspirators are credible. They ask the question of what to do with a radical President whose decisions are affecting the stability of the world. Is the President of the U.S. putting at risk the peace in Europe that has endured for 75 years? 

On the matter of one man’s power, Mikael Gorbachev effectively brought about the destruction of the U.S.S.R.. by his decisions in the late 1980’s.

It is clear Hauty was inspired by the Deep State rhetoric of devout Donald Trump supporters. They were convinced there was a Deep State conspiracy intent on thwarting and threatening their hero.

The best conspiracist fiction writers create conspiracies with an essence of credibility. Hauty, in the tradition of Robert Ludlum, has invented a conspiracy more than believable enough to sustain the story. Beyond the action there are real issues on the future of the world. Every American President, while wrestling with all the loud voices of 21st Century America, must consider how best to protect the nation against foreign threats. In a polarized society dissenting views may be violently expressed.

There was a startling twist I had not anticipated at all. While the twist was clever its unfolding somewhat diminished the ending.

Deep State is an impressive debut. I have the next in the series, Savage Road, and will be reading it promptly.

Visiting the New York City Public Library

In my last post I reviewed The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davies. I bought the book as Marian at the Sleuth of Baker Street bookstore in Toronto had recommended it on the store newsletter, Merchant of Menace. As well, I was drawn to a book featuring the Main Branch of the New York Public Library.

In June of 2004 our family was in New York City. Our younger son, Michael, was a member of a Chamber Choir at the University of Calgary. They had been invited to join other choirs in New York City to perform with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. They were singing the North American debut of a Mass titled The Armed Man which had been dedicated to the victims of the war in Kosovo. It was an amazing experience to see Michael singing at Carnegie Hall.

We stayed in a hotel near Herald Square which meant we were but a few blocks from the Main Branch. (It also meant we were close to the brownstone of Nero Wolfe.) As someone who routinely visits libraries while on vacation the Library was high on my list of places to visit in Manhattan.

As we walked up to the Museum the Lions, Patience and Fortitude, at the main entrance were as memorable symbols of a library as any I have experienced.

The grandeur of the building was inspiring.

We made a tour of the library enjoying the experience.

What drew me the most was the huge Rose Main Reading Room. The photo to the right illustrates the room but cannot convey the majesty of the room.

The long tables with reading lamps were so inviting.

Later in the week I needed to do some work so, while the others went to see  The Producers on Broadway, I went to the library and settled in at the main reading room. I enjoyed the chance to spend a few hours in a great reading room.

I have not been able to visit again. We have not been back in New York for more than a day since that trip. Should we get back to New York for another visit I will be returning to the library. Every book lover should visit the library. It is almost a pilgrimage for those who worship books.

Sadly it is currently closed because of Covid 19. Hopefully it will soon be open for readers.

I would be interested in readers of the blog who have been to the library providing a comment on their experience with the library.

****

Davies, Fiona - (2021) - The Lions of Fifth Avenue

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davies

(2. - 1074.) The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davies - The proud marble lions of the New York Public Library have welcomed the world since the Library was built in 1911. In 1913 they were called Leo Astor and Leo Lennox after the founders of the library. In 1993 they are Patience and Fortitude having been re-named by Mayor La Guardia in the 1930’s.

I was intrigued that in 1913 the Superintendent of the Library and his family lived inside the library. Laura and Jack Lyons with their young children Pearl and Harry have a 7 room apartment. It is an amazing concept to think of living amidst 1,000,000 books in the heart of New York City.

Laura has been accepted to the new Journalism School at Columbia University but the $85 tuition and $20 for books are beyond the means of the family. She is bitterly disappointed.

In 1993 Sadie Donovan has disdain for the hordes of tourists who come to the Library daily. She wished it was less architecturally impressive. For Sadie, libraries are for serious readers not the gawking masses:

Sadie had always preferred books to people.

She had enjoyed being on the reference desk in the Catalog Room looking up answers to questions such as “how much horse manure was dumped on the streets in 1880”. She loves her promotion to assistant curator of the Berg Collection where she deals with the requests of “scholars and researchers”.

Back in 1913 Laura gets an unexpected scholarship and becomes a member of the Class of 1913 at Columbia. She is frustrated with assignments for women that involve home and fashion while the men get to write about the major political and social issues of the day. The demands upon all the students by the professors are unreasonable.

There is a crisis as books, starting with a first edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, go missing.

Then in 1993 the last volume of Virginia Wolfe’s diary goes missing from a bookcase which is inside a locked cage.

A chill descends upon the families of both eras. Suspicion, as it must, falls upon the librarians of past and present for they are among the few with unlimited access to the rare books.

To my surprise Sadie is Pearl’s daughter. Born in l906 Pearl is still alive. Frail but alert Pearl is living with Sadie’s brother and wife and daughter - Lonnie, LuAnn and Valentina.

I wished the story from 1993 had not revealed important bits of the 1913 story before they were reached in the 1913 narrative. I love discovering in books what is happening as the characters learn of events. Knowing what is to come dissipates rather than enhances tension for me.

While Laura, having attended university and about to have a career, has opportunities available to few women of her era she is not a modern woman tucked into the past century. She interacts with the feminists and professional women of her pre-WW I era. As the plot progresses she is drawn into the issues of women in her time.

Laura and Sadie each feel compelled to solve the mystery of the stolen books. The books are works of art, symbols of the days when they were published. The literary heritage of the world is diminished by their absence.

It is impossible for the missing books to have been lost or misfiled. To discover who has taken them they must address how they were stolen from secure locations. Thus the library itself becomes a character as each sleuth studies the details of the magnificent building.

The lives and relationships of Laura and Sadie are well explored. They are complex women who love the written word and books. While the marble lions outside the library are male lions it would have been fitting had they been female lions. Patience and Fortitude are apt descriptions of Laura and Sadie.

Writing a Credible Trial

Writers of legal mysteries featuring trials, especially if the defence is to win, always face the challenge of credible evidence. The evidence must be strong enough to threaten conviction but not so overwhelming as to make a defence unbelievable. At the same time there cannot be too much evidence favouring the defence for the Crown (Canada) or the State (United States) would not proceed with weak charges. In Canada prosecutors should only proceed to trial if there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction.

The challenge was taken up by two masters of legal mysteries - John Grisham and Michael Connelly - in the last two books I have read. In this post I will look at the approaches taken by them in A Time for Mercy and The Law of Innocence respectively. There will be spoilers in the post but not of the endings of the books.

Grisham starts A Time for Mercy by eliminating the most basic defence. Drew Gamble shoots Stewart Kofer in the head while he was passed out drunk. Eliminating any chance for the defence to argue Drew did not kille Kofer puts the defence at a major disadvantage.

By contrast Mickey Haller, in The Law of Innocence, from the opening pages vehemently denies he has killed Sam Scales, who has spent his adult life running charitable scams, and then driven around Los Angeles with Scales in the trunk of his Lincoln Town car.

Grisham swiftly starts building a defence by establishing that Drew was justly terrified that Kofer, who has chronically abused Drew, his sister and his mother, is about to kill him and his sister. He wrongly believes his unconscious mother, beaten by Kofer, is already dead.

For Connelly there is the challenge of giving Haller a realistic motive  for murder. It was the major weakness in the plot. Haller had given up defending Scales, weary of defending a man who preyed on human vulnerability in times of disaster. Facing a situation with which I am well familiar Haller sues Scales for unpaid legal fees. He gains judgment but it is uncollectable from the slippery con man. It is barely credible that Haller would kill Scales because of an unpaid bill. There may be lawyers in private practice who have no unpaid accounts but I know none. Getting stiffed is frustrating but no more than an irritation. 

Connelly’s motive became far fetched when a letter from Haller to Scales threatening action if the account was not paid was used to justify a claim of special circumstances that would send Haller to jail for the rest of his life if convicted. The letter was slender evidence for lawyers routinely and constantly use the word “action” as a contraction for “court action”.

It appeared the State, realizing there was no personal animus from Haller against Scales, decided to argue there was a financial advantage to Haller killing Scales. If Scales were dead Haller could pursue his estate for the unpaid fees. The fundamental flaw is that there was no prospect of collection from the estate of Scales. The elusive Scales had a long history of aliases and fake identities. It was impossible to know how many false names were unknown. It would not be worth trying to track down any money hidden by the scammer. Even if some money was found the claims of the many victims of Scales’ scams would far exceed Haller’s judgment for legal fees.

The plot would have been more credible on motive if Haller had engaged in major arguments with Scales. The State could argue the hot headed Haller might have acted impulsively and violently if he had encountered Scales and been blown off by Scales about the money owed to Haller.

Another option would have Scales complaining to the Bar Association about Haller. All sorts of anger would erupt in Haller over an unjustified or false accusation that could threaten his licence to practise law.

Each author picked a very difficult defence.

Jake Brigance, defending Drew, argued the killing was justified. It is not actually a legal defence to argue Kofer was a man who deserved killing. To his credit Grisham does not make the defence easier by having Drew’s sister tell him that she was sexually abused by Kofer. The justification is based on the extensive and escalating physical and emotional abuse by Kofer. The disgusting details are such that a jury might refuse to convict.

As outlined in my review of the book Connelly chose the most difficult of defences - finding the actual killer to establish Haller was not guilty. It means conducting the investigation the police failed to do after the murder. 

The strength of the plot is in that investigation handled by Haller’s veteran personal investigator, Cisco, and Haller’s half-brother, the legendary Harry Bosch. They go after the unexplored threads left by the police.

Both authors have a surprise development at trial. The unexpected in each case involves the question of disclosure of the case. Where California requires extensive disclosure Mississippi prefers a minimalist approach. The defence is at a continual disadvantage in Mississippi.

Grisham credibly turns the lack of disclosure requirement into bringing forward a witness whose physical condition is as important as the evidence. The condition is not revealed until the witness appears to give evidence.

Clever as always, Connelly describes these trial ambushes as October Surprises. While the State brings forward a damaging surprise Haller has a better surprise with a document not disclosed until cross-examination. He is unconcerned that the prosecutor is furious and the judge angry.

Grisham and Connelly create compelling trials. Grisham’s trial is better as Drew has the more believable reason to kill.

The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly

(1. - 1073.) The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly - When Mickey Haller is stopped for a routine traffic infraction - his licence plate is missing - liquid is dripping from his trunk. Trouble. Sure enough, there is a body in the trunk of his Lincoln Town Car and Mickey is arrested for murder. 

Mickey’s defence is hampered because he is in jail in the Twin Towers pending trial. His bail, set by an unfriendly judge, is an exorbitant $5,000,000 meaning a bond would be $500,000. It is too high for Mickey to raise without exhausting his resources. It is a not so subtle commentary on the inequities of the American pre-trial release proceeding when even the well-to-do cannot afford bail.

I was not surprised, though I was dismayed when Mickey decided to defend himself. While the prospects of placing your life in the hands of another is daunting, defending yourself is worse. It is impossible to be objective. It is also hubris to think no other lawyer could do a better job. Fortunately, Mickey is working with his partner, Jennifer Ariston. She has excellent legal skills and more importantly, understands Mickey well enough to to tell him when his hyper-aggressive tactics need to be restrained.

The murder appears spectacularly inept for a defence lawyer with 25 years of experience at the bar. Killing a former client, Sam Scales, in the trunk of your car and driving around Los Angeles for a day with the corpse in the trunk does not make sense for the dimmest citizen let alone a clever man. Mickey has engaged in some sleazy legal tactics but I cannot see him a killer.

I was touched when a former client and Harry Bosch, his half brother and retired LAPD detective, reach out to offer hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of Mickey. Bosch, while still considering defence work the dark side, asks to join the defence team. Mickey is glad to have Bosch on his side.

In the boldest defense strategy possible Mickey invokes the law of innocence. Not content with raising reasonable doubt he seeks the holy grail of innocence:

The law of innocence is unwritten. It will not be found in a leather-bound codebook. It will never be argued in a courtroom. It cannot be written into law by the elected. It is an abstract idea and yet it closely aligns with the hard laws of nature and science. In the play of physics, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the law of innocence, for every man not guilty of a crime, there is a man out there who is. And to prove true innocence, the guilty man must be found and exposed to the world.

There is no standard of proof for the law of innocence as it is a concept, as set out above, outside the legal statutes, principles and cases that govern criminal law.

While a righteous defence is good theatre it is the most dangerous approach to a trial for it may tip a jury to a guilty decision if the accused cannot establish their innocence to the satisfaction of the jury.

In The Law of Innocence the prosecutor, Dana “Death Penalty” ---- or the Iceberg, is a zealous prosecutor who considers Mickey one of the lowest forms of life.

Pleading the law of innocence means the defense team must find the real killer, not merely the possible killer. The process is complicated by Scales being a con man. He ran fake charity scams seeking donations for the victims of American tragedies such as mass shootings. He has a series of known aliases let alone his unknown false names. The hardened Mickey eventually quit representing Scales as his schemes were too much for Mickey.

Not all of the book collaborations between the half-brothers has gone well. Here it is very credible.

Both Mickey and Harry, as with other good trial counsel and investigators, obsess over detail. They examine carefully all evidence. Their diligence is rewarded by such flaws as determining the deceased’s wallet went missing after he was taken from Mickey’s car by the police but before there was an inventory of his effects by the detectives.

To add to the stress Mickey insists on a speedy trial which means he has little time to find the real killer before he is on trial for murder.

The trial features Mickey and his co-counsel, a totally unexpected attorney drawn into the case when Jennifer goes to Washington state where her father is an early victim of what turned out to be Covid 19. (The trial takes place in late February of 2020.)

I was glad to see Mickey willing to let co-counsel have a significant role and actually defer to co-counsel on occasion - a major concession for a man with a huge ego.

Connelly keeps the trial moving and the tension building. The State will hammer to the jury every day that Scales was killed in the trunk of Mickey’s car while it was parked in his garage. Pleading reasonable doubt would have been challenging enough but pleading the law of innocence is a huge burden.

The Law of Innocence is an excellent book. It is one of Connelly’s best books. 2021 is off to a great start.

****

Connelly, Michael – (2000) - Void Moon; (2001) - A Darkness More than Night; (2001) - The Concrete Blonde (Third best fiction of 2001); (2002) - Blood Work (The Best);  (2002) - City of Bones; (2003) - Lost Light; (2004) - The Narrows; (2005) - The Closers (Tied for 3rd best fiction of 2005); (2005) - The Lincoln Lawyer; (2007) - Echo Park; (2007) - The Overlook; (2008) - The Brass Verdict; (2009) – The Scarecrow; (2009) – Nine Dragons; (2011) - The Reversal; (2011) - The Fifth Witness; (2012) - The Drop; (2012) - Black Echo; (2012) - Harry Bosch: The First 20 Years; (2012) - The Black Box; (2014) - The Gods of Guilt; (2014) - The Bloody Flag Move is Sleazy and Unethical; (2015) - The Burning Room; (2015) - Everybody Counts or Nobody Counts; (2016) - The Crossing; (2016) - Lawyers and Police Shifting Sides; (2017) - The Wrong Side of Goodbye and A Famous Holograph Will; (2017) - Bosch - T.V. - Season One and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch; (2018) - Two Kinds of Truth; (2019) - Dark Sacred Night and A Protest on Connelly's Use of Vigilante Justice; (2020) - The Night Fire; (2020) - Fair Warning; Hardcover

Practising Law in Rural Mississippi and Saskatchewan

Before embarking on my trio of posts about court cases and commissions of inquiry setting the facts of history I had reviewed A Time for Mercy by John Grisham. It was an excellent book. As I read the book I reflected on the life of a country lawyer.

Many of the aspects of Jake Brigance’s life and firm remind me of my own experience in rural Saskatchewan. In the book Jake is 37 in 1990. I was 38 that year. 

I could appreciate his constant need for new cases and transactions to maintain cash flow because large cases are few in the country. The big cases usually stay in the cases.

As set out in my last post I have had the chance to participate in nationally prominent cases. In addition to the Commissions of Inquiry described in that post I had the opportunity to take part in several national class actions. Yet most of my time has been spent on cases and transactions of importance to the participants but rarely gained further attention.

While rare there can be a local case that garners national, even international attention. Most recently in Saskatchewan it was the Humboldt Broncos hockey team bus crash that took place 70 km from Melfort. It was the notorious case that a rural lawyer will have to decide whether it will cost business. 

Every defendant in major trouble is entitled to a lawyer. Here it is easier as Legal Aid is more established and there is a wider pool of lawyers willing to travel to take on such cases. Still I was glad we were not approached to defend the driver in the Humboldt Bronco bus crash. It avoided a decision for our firm.

In A Question of Mercy Jake agonizes over taking on another controversial defence to a murder charge. He knows there will be hostility and anger and financial consequences to representing 16 year old Drew Gamble on the charge he murdered Deputy Sheriff Stewart Kofer.

Thankfully the threats against lawyers taking unpopular cases are absent in rural Saskatchewan. I have never known a lawyer to have his/her house burned down as Jake’s house was burned in Grisham’s first book, A Time to Kill.

On a happier note being in a general practice in a rural area means continuing relationships. As Jake has known several of his clients and their families in different ways I have appreciated the chance to represent up to four generations of the same family.

While all litigators know the judges where they are resident you must learn in the country how to work with judges you deal with all the time. In Saskatchewan Provincial Court judges preside in an area. There are two resident judges in Melfort. You worry less about the relationships in larger centres where you see more judges. I am glad that Queen’s Bench judges are rotated in Saskatchewan which results in a variety of judges coming to Melfort.

In Grisham’s books about trials in Mississippi the need for research on some jurors is eliminated as the lawyers personally know them. I expect to know potential jurors in any pool of jurors for a jury trial in Melfort. What I have had to deal with involves potential jurors being eliminated simply because they know me. In one trial I asked the trial judge to require more than just knowledge of me for dismissal as a juror.

Having read the Grisham books and a few more on trials in the deep American South I believe the jurors of our area are more willing to find accused not guilty than in rural Mississippi.  My conclusion is hardly scientific and I recognize the risk of relying on fiction for real life.

There are some distinct differences between practising in rural Mississippi and rural Saskatchewan. There are neither elected judges nor elected Sheriffs in Saskatchewan.

Most of the police in rural Saskatchewan are not permanent residents of the area as are the officers of the Ford County Sheriff’s department or the members of the Clanton police force. As our officers are members of the RCMP they are part of a national police force and transferred every few years.

I appreciate, as does Jake, being within a few minutes of home so that it is possible to have more time with family.

You do have close personal relationships with fellow lawyers. Certainly there are relationships in larger cities for lawyers but I believe the small regional bars in the country promote strong relationships among the lawyers.

I am sure there are class distinctions in Saskatchewan but they are certainly less obvious than such institutions as the country club at Clanton. Melfort’s “country” club is open to all golfers at a modest fee. They are always seeking new members.

There is a major racial divide in Saskatchewan. There are racist attitudes towards the indigenous peoples of our country. I think Canada’s less violent racial history and efforts at addressing racism mean racism has a lesser presence in practising law here than Mississippi. As to the inequalities in our judicial system I make no comment in this post.

I hope Grisham will return in a future book to Mississippi but the acknowledgements suggested he has written enough about Ford County.

****

Grisham, John – (2000) - The Brethren; (2001) - A Painted House; (2002) - The Summons; (2003) - The King of Torts; (2004) - The Last Juror; (2005) - The Runaway Jury; (2005) - The Broker; (2008) - The Appeal; (2009) - The Associate; (2011) - The Confession; (2011) - The Litigators; (2012) - "G" is for John Grisham - Part I and Part II; (2013) - The Racketeer; (2013) - Grisham's Lawyers; (2013) - Analyzing Grisham's Lawyers; (2013) - Sycamore Row; (2014) - Gray Mountain and Gray Mountain and Real Life Legal Aid; (2015) - Rogue Lawyer and Sebastian Rudd; (2016) - The Whistler; (2017) - Camino Island; (2017) - The Rooster Bar and Law Students and Integrity; (2019) - The Reckoning; (2019) - Cullen Post in The Guardians and The Guardians; (2020) - A Time for Mercy