In cop-speak, a “brass verdict” refers to justice handed down with a bullet. It’s a way to bypass the law, the courts, judges, and juries. It’s vigilante justice.
One of Mickey Haller’s fellow defense attorneys, Jerry Vincent, is murdered in the parking garage of his law practice one night. It could have been any one of a hundred suspects, as a lot of people didn’t like Vincent. Any one of those suspects probably felt that what happened to Vincent was justice.
The next day, Haller is called downtown and told that he has inherited Vincent’s entire backlog of clients and ongoing cases, roughly thirty of them. Apparently, Vincent left a will, bequeathing his entire caseload to Haller upon his death.
One day, Haller woke up with no clients, and by lunchtime, he had thirty new ones.
Thus begins Michael Connelly’s novel “The Brass Verdict”, the second in the series featuring The Lincoln Lawyer.
Among his cases is the Walter Elliott case. Elliott, a wealthy Hollywood executive, is being accused of murdering his ex-wife and her lover.
Meanwhile, Detective Harry Bosch is working the Vincent murder. He’s asking Haller for help, but Haller’s hands are tied. He has attorney-client privilege, which prevents him from talking about anything to the police about ongoing or upcoming cases. But Haller wants to see Vincent’s murderer brought to justice, too, as Vincent was also a friend. There’s always loopholes, as Haller knows only too well.
“The Brass Verdict” is definitely one of my favorite Connelly novels thus far. It’s also a pretty important one in the series, as it’s the first time Haller and Bosch are teamed up. There are also some very important life-changing events for both characters in this one, but I won’t spoil it.