Indefensible: One Lawyer's Journey into the Inferno of American Justice 
asked by trailrider on November 23, 2006 12:26 PM
If M*A*S*H took place in the Bronx instead of Korea and was about lawyers and judges, not doctors and officers, it would look a lot like INDEFENSIBLE, David Feiges darkly funny and thrilling account of an ordinary day in the complicated life of a public defender in the South Bronx. In the span of a single day we meet murderers and misdemeanants, loutish lawyers, and vindictive judges. We race from courtroom to courtroom, judge to judge, and defendant to defendant, in a shocking behind-the-scenes look at big city justice as it really happens. This is a book full of black comedy and outrage, of unforgettable characters and situations. Written with the verve and insider know-how of a John Grisham thriller, but with the social conscience of a Barbara Ehrenreich, INDEFENSIBLE has real crossover potentialand should ignite a profound debate about law and order in America. It puts a human face on the terrifying systemic failures that make American criminal justice the dirty little secret of our time.
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I never knew that poor people were so mistreated by the justice system -- as David Feige shows repeatedly, the police would never go into Manhattan [or Beverly Hills or La Jolla] and arrest people for open container (unless driving) trespassing, blowing smoke in the direction of a police officer, and on and on. When they find easy pickings, the poor, it seems almost automatic. And the arrestee, guilty or not, can hardly give his lawyer a call and have it handled for him. No, he must go through incredible hassles, crammed into a miserable cell for hours on end, then finally appear before a judge who gives him 20 seconds, forcing him to plead guilty to end it all so he won't lose his job and his family will find out where he is.
David Feige is a terrific writer, and deserves great rewards for his service to the poor. Which he will never get.
David Feige is a terrific writer, and deserves great rewards for his service to the poor. Which he will never get.
reviewed by shirley49 on November 25, 2006 6:13 AM
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Mr. Feige has written a book with some amusing stories but the overall liberal bias renders it more a polemic. Every story is distorted by omission of facts and his unrelenting bitterness. For example Mr. Feige writes how cars with tinted windows are given 5 tickets, one for each window. He doesn't say that tinted cars are the prefered hit vehicles for drive by shootings and drug deals. If the police can get a tinted vehicle off the streets by amplifying the violation by 5, more power to them. He also writes about dog violations as though the police were using them to harass helpless pet owners. He doesn't say that these are not the cute poodles you might find on 72nd St. These are vicious 150 lb pit bulls that are used to terrorise neighbors and clear a path on the sidewalk. Finally, there are the ad hominem attacks naming specific jurists without any attempt to provide a balanced view. At one point, Mr. Feige names a judge and states, "He got the job by handing $38,000 in cash to a politician". Where are the facts to back up this accusation? More than anything else, the emptyness and bitterness of Mr. Feige's life shines through. He never mentions a wife, children, or any outside of work activities other than drinking.
reviewed by geri1956 on November 26, 2006 1:20 AM
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INDEFENSIBLE: ONE LAWYER'S JOURNEY INTO THE INFERNO OF AMERICAN JUSTICE provides a description of an ordinary day in the life of a South Bronx public defender: a day which encounters murders, annoying fellow lawyers, and vindictive judges. Feige has been a public defender for nearly fifteen years: his blow-by-blow account of one hectic day is eye-opening and revealing.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
reviewed by markymark on November 27, 2006 5:07 PM
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Mr. Feige's journey into the day in the life of a Public Defender in the Bronx is funny and infuriating. Little gets done (aside from injury). His world is one where the compassionate are blocked from those in need by a pretty brutal, heartless, and racist beurocracy clothed in a robe. He fights a lot. Sometimes he wins. Mostly, it is a study of a system in need. Mr. Feige does a great job of showing a system in great need of repair.
Still, there are heroes. The wrongly accused, the defenders, some judges, and (surprisingly) the majority of the guards who tend to the accused. And a closet that holds actual suits (not skelatons).
Foucault wrote that a society should be judged by the way it treats its prisoners. Mr. Feige shows that the Bronx is in trouble.
Still, there are heroes. The wrongly accused, the defenders, some judges, and (surprisingly) the majority of the guards who tend to the accused. And a closet that holds actual suits (not skelatons).
Foucault wrote that a society should be judged by the way it treats its prisoners. Mr. Feige shows that the Bronx is in trouble.
reviewed by maxwell on November 28, 2006 1:05 PM