Bronx Justice

Jaywalker #2

by Joseph Teller

"I love the dry wit of Teller's work. Nelson Demille meets Turow or Grisham!"—Goodreads review of Overkill

A Jaywalker Case: Book 2 (originally published in 2009)

It’s the kind of case no one but Jaywalker would take. A young black man from the worst section of the Bronx is accused of raping five women. Five white women. The first four victims have positively identified him, and the fifth is on the verge of doing the same. It’s open and shut. But not for Jaywalker.

In his effort to make sure justice is done, even—no, especially—for someone who’s never really had a shot, he starts looking deeply into character: the defendant’s, the victims’—and society’s. What he learns will not only change one man’s life, it will haunt Jaywalker forever.

Don’t miss a single one of Joseph Teller’s award-winning Jaywalker novels:

The Tenth Case Bronx Justice Depraved Indifference Guilty as Sin Overkill

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Legal

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Joseph Teller is a pen name of Joseph Teller Klempner, and he is also published as Joseph T. Klempner

Joseph Teller was born and raised in New York City. He graduated in 1961 from the College of Wooster in Ohio and from the University of Michigan Law School in 1964. He returned to New York City, where he was admitted to the bar in 1965, but spent three years as an agent with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (the precursor of the Drug Enforcement Administration), doing undercover work. For the next 35 years, he worked as a criminal defense attorney, representing murderers, drug dealers, thieves and at least one serial killer. When New York State restored the death penalty in the nineties, Teller was one of a select group of lawyers given special training to represent capital defendants, which he did on several occasions, including winning an acquittal for a man accused of committing a double murder.

Not too long ago, Teller decided to "run from the law," and began writing fiction. He lives and writes in rural upstate New York with his wife, Sandy, an antiques dealer.

Reviews

[Hung Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more similar to a bibliography than a novel. It is about Jay's first years of law practicing. The story is fine in general, however the ending is not as strong as in the first novel.

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like the intricacies and drama of the courtroom, I dare you not to like this book. If you find minute detail related to the courtroom and relationship between lawyer and client tedious, pass this up. This book should probably not even be classified as fiction since it appears about as realistic a portrayal of the legal system as one would never hope to experience. What makes this book remarkable is that the author, a real trial attorney, creates a sense of foreboding and gloom from the most mundane of legal proceedings. The case was a nightmare for this young attorney, for as he notes at one point, lawyers HATE innocent clients. It puts them in a terrible bind because they know the vagaries of the jury system. Innocent people get convicted. Lawyers do their best for their clients: if they win the case, terrific, they got a good deal for their client and if he'she is guilty well perhaps he got them a reduced sentence. But if the attorney is convinced of the innocence of his client the pressure to win becomes unbearable and haunting. Every action and decision made during the course of a trial will be reexamined over and over if the client is convicted and the attorney will be scarred by the wonder of what he might have done differently.

A reviewer on Amazon downgraded this book because it didn't have any "surprises" which every good thriller should have. As the author notes in his "epilogue," this is a true story with many of the names not even changed. That, regretfully, is all the surprise one can handle given that without a bit of luck, an innocent man would have been convicted of four rapes.

A thought-provoking book about the way our system works (or doesn't.)

[Janetlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read - true story. The author was the lawyer. He changed the dates and names, but used the trial transcripts verbatim. Interesting story if an innocent person being tried and convicted by a jury of his peers. It took two years and a lot of diligence by the attorney who wouldn't quit to get the conviction set aside after the guilty party was found.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole time I was reading this book, I was struck by its realism.

And then I got to the end of the book and found out that's because it was real--based on a real case of this author. Using actual verbatim court transcripts at times.

Fascinating. I definitely want to read more by this author.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story pulled me in and didn't take me long to read. I'm really enjoying the Jaywalker series. I had no idea this was based on a actual case until I read the author's note at the end. Can't wait to read more of these books!

[Josh Needles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book on a $1 shelf in a bookstore in pine mountain Georgia and it might be the best one dollar I have ever spent. I was hooked on every page

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow. Written by Joseph Teller, and published by MIRA Books in 2009, this book is a flashback to an earlier time in criminal defense attorney Jaywalker’s career, when he was practicing his craft in the Bronx, New York. The year is 1979, and Harrison Jason Walker, better known as Jaywalker, is trying to defend a twenty-two- year-old black man who has been accused of serial rapes. Darren Kingston has a wife and child, and he works at a Manhattan post office. Five different white women have come forward and accused him of raping them, and one has also said that she was sodomized by him. Darren’s mother Inez, and his father Marlin are honest, hard-working Americans who believe their son to be innocent, so they have scraped together everything they have to hire Jaywalker, to pay Darren’s fifty-thousand dollar bail, and to pay for a polygraph test. Even though Jaywalker believes in his heart that Darren is innocent, as a struggling young attorney with a family, and in private practice only a year-and-a-half, he cannot afford to turn down any fees.

All of the rapes and attempted rapes took place in empty stairwells in high-rise housing units in the Bronx. In every case, the rapist unscrews a single bare light bulb in order to darken the stairway. Fingerprints are found on the lightbulbs, but they are considered to be “of no value” by police and prosecutors. Jaywalker uses every bit of his knowledge of the law to keep Darren out of jail and prison, including securing bail, and an appeal bond. He tries to work with the prosecutor, Jacob Pope, but Pope is able to use some questionable tactics in the trial that the judge, Justice Max Davidoff, supports—wrongly in Jaywalker’s view.

Although this is a fictionalized account of a real case that took place early in the author’s career, I found it difficult to relate to the protagonist: Jaywalker. He makes too many mistakes. He trusts too many people. Even though he is keenly aware that the U.S. system of justice is an adversarial one, and even though it is clear that he and prosecutor Pope are adversaries, he trusts the man in ways that ultimately hurt his client. He also seems to engage in “magical thinking,” rather than employing objectivity and analysis. Jaywalker has already worked as a Legal Aid lawyer, in addition to his time in private practice, so he should not have been so naïve.

Because of the detailed descriptions of the legal processes as they were in 1979-1980, the story drags quite a bit. This will be especially true for those readers who have already read the author’s first work: The Tenth Case. Many of the descriptions are repetitions of what readers were told in the first novel of the series. In my opinion, this seriously detracted from the quality of the novel. To me, the result was a slow read. If you like detailed legal description, you might like this story. The fact that it reflects actual events makes it a bit more interesting, but I thought it moved too slowly and had more detail than the average reader might want to know about how the American criminal justice system works. I can award no more than three stars for this one.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a lover of true crime and I was looking forward to reading this given the current trend with ‘making a Murderer ‘ etc but I have to admit I struggled with this book. This was a fictionalised version of a real court case of a crime that took place in 1979.

I found the majority of this book too descriptive, I felt that I could skip most of the narrative and not miss anything important about the premise of the book. It was almost as if I was sitting in a lecture of how to be a lawyer. I found it difficult to believe in him as a lawyer when he’d previously worked for both legal aid and the DEA and yet didn’t fully investigate all areas of the case - like following up on the fingerprint on the lightbulb etc. The really descriptive nature caused the book to drag for me.

For me it did highlight how scarily easy it was back in those days to wrongly convict someone. And towards the end I did enjoy the suspense of whether or not Jaywalker would find that one piece of evidence that would help Darren and I felt myself willing him to find something that would set Darren and his family free.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for the book club I run in Leeds.

I'm still not sure what to really make of this book. I read book 1 in the jaywalker series a long time ago and to my recollection it was a lot grittier. Whilst this story was really interesting being based on a real-life case it felt like an academic read. Interesting insights into how the Bronx justice system works but it spoils the flow of the story in my opinion.

The story also seemed to drag but I was pleased that the defendant got the right outcome in the end.

[Dorothy Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a glimpse of what it would be like to be accused of horrendous crimes and be unable to defend yourself. The truth was inadequate. How many of us could prove we were home alone sleeping on any given day when the crimes were committed? Your family's testimony won't do it because they love you. This defendant was lucky enough to have a lawyer who wouldn't quit.

[Bernice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knowing that this was a true story from the beginning made a difference. I am in the legal profession so that also was a factor in holding my interest. Book well written and it was eye opening in how an innocent man could be unfairly treated in the system. Worth your time to read this one.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

So two books in a row I gave up on, one by Joeseph Heller, the other by Joseph Teller. This one was just too much minutia about the justice system. And Jaywalker is too wholesome. I like my lawyers and detectives to have some serious flaws. He's too good.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny how the court system doesn’t work. Especially if it’s you who it’s after. Enjoy the read. What a book!

[Mike]

Oct 2011 #2 of 5

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book based on the recommendation of a friend and I thought it was pretty good. I liked that it was a true story and that everything that happened was really part of a real-life rape case, except for the names and dates being changed. Joseph Teller's retelling of a case that he really was a part of was interesting and sometimes pulled at my heartstrings. The only thing that was upsetting to me, besides the fact that the man was wrongly accused, was that the narrator, who happened to be the man's lawyer, went back and forth on whether he believed the guy was innocent or not. Throughout the whole book I was confident that he was innocent and so it irked me that the man's lawyer had so little faith in him at times. At points it was a slow read for me and it took me over a week to read this, but I think it was worth the read in the end.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even though this was a true story, sadly, that did not redeem it from being an incredibly slow and unenlightening read. The vast majority of the book read like a straight court trial procedural, and while you sympathized with the attorney and his client, the book never had any action that really drew the reader in. It was interesting to learn about the changes in law and trial procedures and criminal investigative techniques. Other than that, it was tough to stick with this book. I think if there are people out there who are somehow unaware that people are wrongly convicted of crimes, than this might be a good book for them...otherwise, look elsewhere.

[Carla]

If you like courtroom dramas you will probably like this book. the main character Jaywalker invites the reader to live his life and share his doubts about his recent case. A former client is arrested for the rape of two women and the attempted rape of another 2 more women. He claims his innocence time and time again but there isn't an alibi, witness, or a piece of evidence to back him up. As the court date approaches Jaywalker tries several different approaches to quell his doubts about his client's possible innocence. He realizes what scares him the most is the possibility of an innocent man being sentenced to prison. It was a good read but the ending was disappointing.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this non-fiction turned fiction book a little hard to get into. There were huge paragraphs of explanations of the law, and even larger duller explanations of how Jaywalker viewed thoughts, the law system and life itself. I expected a faster paced tale as the case itself was a really interesting one.

[Sherrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, this lawyer takes a case defending a guy who is accused of 4 rapes. Almost immediately, he is so obsessed with his case that he ignores his family, doesn't sleep, and forgets all his other cases. Uhh...no? Nobody wants a lawyer that unstable.

[Stacia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible. Just awful. This book is why "but it really happened!" doesn't always mean it makes for a good story.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this author. Not exactly sure why, but he keeps me reading past the time when I should have put the book down to do whatever else needs doing.

[Laura Christoffersen]

Stupid book

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trial suspense.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of my favorite authors

[Dane Morgan]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12228737

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, it kept me reading from start to finish, very hard to put down.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second in his Jaywalker series is too much "how to be a defense attorney" and not enough suspense. His first effort was definitely a more enjoyable read.

[Lindamac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoying the writing of Joseph Teller and his Jaywalker Series!

[RKO Archer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dude kind of repeats himself a lot, but still a good book.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good book! Felt same emotions right along with the main character.