Objection!

April 11, 2005
Grace, an ex-prosecutor who for years has been a fixture on Court TV and now CNN, attacks criminals and their lawyers in this fiercely opinionated critique of the criminal justice system. Grace became a prosecutor after her fiancé was murdered and claims to have achieved a 100% conviction rate. A political shuffle cost her that job, but God, she believes, led her to the airwaves to continue her battle of good against evil. Defense attorneys, she contends, are con artists whose job is "to obscure the truth from the jury." Other targets of the author's wrath are celebrity defendants who, she says, receive special treatment at trials and in sentencing; greedy citizens who talk their way onto juries to gather material for instant books; and hucksters who sell memorabilia collected from depraved criminals. Grace inveighs against those who profit from high-profile trials, but fails to note that her own role as television's pro-prosecution talking head could be criticized on that ground. Grace energetically argues that television cameras should be allowed at all trials. No matter how self-serving this proposal may be when made by a prominent member of the "24/7 media," the idea is intriguing and enlivens what is otherwise a fairly predictable and angry rehash of O.J., Peterson, et al. Agent, Frank Weymann.

May 1, 2005
With the help of celebrity journalist Clehane, "Court TV" commentator and former Atlanta prosecutor Grace has written a scathing if scattershot critique of the U.S. criminal justice system. Sparing only the prosecutors, she lambastes defense attorneys, judges, jurors, and the media in equal measure, making broad generalizations about their biases based on her personal trial experiences and the 1980 murder of her fiancé . Expect acidic commentary on such recent tabloid fodder as the celebrity trials of Martha Stewart, Robert Blake, Michael Jackson, and Kobe Bryant. And expect controversy: In Chapter 6, for instance, she appears to challenge the practice of providing public defenders for indigents charged with crimes because of the cost. Grace is in favor of the death penalty because, she says, many people want it and some crimes deserve it. She doesn't address charges, however, that some prosecutors selectively seek the penalty because of race and other extraneous criteria. This book is meant to be outspoken, and it certainly manages that. But as this is just one former prosecutor's opinion, readers can judge for themselves. -Harry Charles, St. Louis, MO

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2005
Grace, a former assistant district attorney in Atlanta specializing in criminal prosecution, is now a Court TV personality with a strong rightward lean. She presents a highly accessible commentary on what's wrong with our criminal justice system by focusing on cases involving the rich, famous, and infamous, including Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Scott Peterson, the Menendez brothers, Martha Stewart, and Robert Blake. Grace's name-dropping has purpose as she integrates these celebrity cases with her own litigation experience to highlight deficiencies in the justice system. Her attack on defense attorneys and their ethical deficiencies seems one-sided as she appears at times to disregard the presumption of innocence of the accused. She criticizes celebrity defendants and even juries who attempt to benefit financially from well-publicized trials. She includes a personal account of the murder of her" "fiance in an apparently random drive-by shooting. It was an experience that motivated her interest in the law and, no doubt, colors her perspectiveof the justice system.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)