Praise for the novels of
JOSEPH TELLER
âTellerâs richly suspenseful story
will leave the reader eagerly anticipating the denouement and Jaywalkerâs next adventure.â
âPublishers Weekly, starred review of The Tenth Case
âJoseph Tellerâs stellar The Tenth Case
sets the standard for defense attorney procedurals.â
âMysterious Reviews on The Tenth Case
âA glimpse into a different era and a peek into the
psyche of the already intriguing Jaywalker, Tellerâs novel draws readers in at the very beginning and doesnât let up.â
âRT Book Reviews on Bronx Justice
âJaywalkerâs second legal thriller
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.â
âThe Merry Genre Go Round Reviews on Bronx Justice
âDepraved Indifference is an excellent legal drama
whose strength lies in the meticulous plotting.â
âThe Mystery Reader on Depraved Indifference
The guiltiest man there ever was
A lonzo Barnett died last week.
There wasnât any obituary announcement that ran in the Times, or even the Daily News or the Post. It seems the Alonzo Barnetts of the world donât rate obituary announcements.
In fact, Jaywalker might never have found out, had he not gotten a phone call from a mutual acquaintance named Kenny Smith. Smith had originally met Barnett through Jaywalker, and had somehow gotten word on the street of Barnettâs death.
Not that the death was a particularly tragic one, as deaths go. Barnett was seventy-six, after all, and even though heâd spent a good portion of those years in state prison, seventy-six is still a pretty fair number, by any yardstick.
There was no funeral or memorial service held for Alonzo Barnett. Still, Jaywalker and Smith did get together to pay a brief condolence call. Though for Jaywalker, it felt like something much more than that. Because over the twenty-five years since their first meeting, heâd come to regard Barnett not just as a former client and a good friend but as a defendant sent his way by something very close to Providence. Not that Jaywalker would ever admit believing in that kind of stuff, not even if his life depended on it.
Still, a year before the Barnett case, heâd represented another defendant, also a likable African-American with a long record, who, like Barnett, had been charged with selling drugs. The guy had been considering taking a plea, but Jaywalker had talked him out of it, telling him the offer wasnât good enough and there was an excellent chance they could beat the case at trial. So when the jury inexplicably came back with a conviction, Jaywalker had gone into a deep depression. Heâd failed his client, he realized, not only by losing but by pushing him to go to trial in the first place. Heâd been a âcowboy,â a âgunslinger,â an unpardonable sin in Jaywalkerâs book. The resulting funk left him nearly suicidal. He stopped taking on new cases and could barely show up for his existing ones. He might have walked away from his practice altogether, had he not had a wife and daughter to support and tuition payments to meet.
So when Barnettâs case came along, it meant more than just another client, more than just another payday. It represented something of a second chance for Jaywalker, an opportunity to atone for having failed so terribly the last time out. A chance, if you will, for redemption.
That had been then. But there was more to it. Over the twenty-five years that had passed since Alonzo Barnett first came into Jaywalkerâs life, his name has become the answer to a trivia question of sorts. A question Jaywalkerâs been asked hundreds of times by now, perhaps even thousands. Though to Jaywalker, thereâs nothing the least bit trivial about it. It goes like this:
âHow can you possibly represent somebody you know is guilty?â
Heâs heard it so many times, in fact, that he long ago developed a stock response to it, a little civics lecture he trots out and delivers on cue, punctuated with timeworn phrases like passionate belief in the process, foundation of the adversarial system of justice, and love of the underdog.
And his words seem to satisfy most folks, at least up to a point. Others, heâs come to learn, are never going to get it. Like the earnest young man who appeared to listen intently before smiling and saying, âThatâs very nice. I hope you lose all your trials.â
Every once in a while, though, the questioner presses Jaywalker further, and sounds as though he or she is really interested in getting beyond the catchphrases and truly understanding why it is that the guiltiest of defendants, particularly those who readily admit their guilt, nevertheless deserve a champion every bit as much as the wrongly accused. And at that point Jaywalker will look around the room, searching for a couple of empty chairs off in a quiet corner. Then heâll suggest that the two of them sit down. And once theyâve done so, heâll look the person hard in the eye. âDo you really, really want to know the answer to that question?â heâll ask. And if he happens to get a âYes,â heâll lean back and close his eyes for a long moment, the better to take himself back over the twenty-five years that have passed since the event. And then, once heâs completed the journey in his mind, heâll open his eyes again. And if the other chair isnât empty by that timeâas it actually was onceâJaywalker will draw in a deep breath.