System Failure: A Critique of the Judicial System of the United States

by James F. Love IV

System Failure is a Critique of the US Judicial System as seen through the eyes of a 25 year practicing jailhouse lawyer, who eventually freed himself from a wrongful conviction. The Foreword of this book was written by attorney William R. Gallagher of Cincinnati. Mr. Gallagher won the Robert C. Heeney Award, in 2011, from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Washington, D.C. That award is given to one criminal defense attorney per year who best exemplifies the goals and values of the Association and the legal profession. In his Foreword, Mr. Gallagher states this book talks about things attorneys will only discuss among themselves in the corner of a cocktail party. Mr. Gallagher is considered to be one of the top three criminal trial attorneys East of the Mississippi River. The book discloses why the average time between a wrongful conviction and exoneration is 9 1/2 years. The book, using empirical data, and publicly known facts, advances credible numbers of wrongfully imprisoned citizens in the US in excess of 100,000. The book brings to light a systemic violation of Article III of the Constitution by using data from the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, to prove young law clerks are deciding most of the cases in the Federal Courts, and proposes changes to the way in which jurisdictions are created to resolve that problem. The author was considered to be the best jailhouse lawyer in the Ohio prison system for over 20 years. Although the author did mostly criminal appeals and Habeas Corpus work, he also initiated a lawsuit against Ohio, with the assistance of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center in Cincinnati, for refusing to treat prisoners for Hepatitis C, brought on the behalf of two friends of his.That lawsuit, Fussell v. Wilkinson, turned into a major medical/dental Class Action that has cost the State of Ohio $1.7 billion since its inception in 2003. In the pages of this book, you will find a man who taught himself the law from scratch, motivated by having been wrongfully convicted, and fought a 25 year war with the judicial system on the behalf of other Lifers who were his friends. The author spent 4 years at Warren Correctional Institution, under the control of one of the best prison Wardens to ever exist, Anthony Brigano; 2 years at Chillicothe Correctional Institution, before his first reversal; 4 years at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility at Lucasville; 5 years at Lebanon Correctional Institution and 10 years at Allen Correctional Institution in Lima, Ohio. Luke and Leb ain't no joke. The above only scratches the surface of this book. Come walk a mile in my shoes.

313 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 19, 2020

Reviews

[Tim Null · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a member of a murder trial jury a little more than a decade ago. At the trial, the defense presented witnesses that suggested the defendant was likely elsewhere at the time of the murder.

Since the crime occurred years before the trial, it was difficult for the defendant to prove his whereabouts at the time of the rape/murder.

The prosecutor presented three types of evidence. First, the defendant could have been where he said he was and still have had ample opportunity to commit the crimes of rape and murder. Second, years ago, when the crime was committed, the defendant wasn't the nice guy that he is today. Third, there was one drop of the defendant's semen on the victim's bare stomach.

After the trial was over, I learned that the crime scene investigator had been fired by the CSI unit in San Francisco because on several occasions, she had manufactured evidence. The judge didn't let the jury know about that fact because it would have been prejudicial to the prosecution. Damn straight, it would have been prejudicial! If I and the other jurors had known that little bit of information, we would have had either given a not-guilty verdict, or we would have been a "hung jury."

[Huaaa97 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book on a topic of law and justice system. I believe the book has done a good job in creating awareness to the readers and personally, it offer me a space to talk and critically discussed the topic about 'justice'.

As a media student, the book definitely has a huge impact to me, it make me question the notion of 'newsworthy story' and also the function of the press itself. After I read the chapter 'As Gulliver Sleep', I became angry and there is this uneasy feeling that keep on knocking at my mind on how unfair the law has treated the people. I began to question the credibility of the press and if we are still living in the world where the media press are still under the control of those in power. Although this topic might be further argue in different context, it strongly affect me while I was reading the book as a reader and a media student. That being said, I could not deny the fact that the theme carries in the book is a bit difficult and hard for me to digest. I took multiple breaks to understand the concept and situation and it was worth it. It equipped me with a different knowledge that could play a huge role for myself if I were to go into the field of media press.

As I have mentioned earlier, the book inevitably provide me a different perspective of the profession related to law and the constitution. It proves that whatever I learnt, my preception before on this topic is not even close to the reality that we are facing right now. I used to have this mindset to 'hate the sin, not the sinner' and doe the longest time, I believe that everyone deserve a second chance and I still stand to that believe up to this day. However, I could not deny that the book gave me a different side of the coin whereby there are individuals who are not even guilty for their charge and are still serving their time due to the constitution, procedures etc.

I personally believe I would rather die than to serve my time especially when I am innocent. I have no idea how those incredible people mentioned in the book could last this long and I admire the author for being brave to share his experience with the readers. It must have been hard all this while but it certainly is beneficial to have the book written as it serve the public on the awareness of the issue. Furthermore, in some way it shows and demonstrate that miracle does exist and we could always improve in hope for better.

I enjoyed reading this book putting aside those terms that I am not familar with, I would strongly recommend people to read this.

[Tri Wahyuningrum · Rating 5 out of 5]

System Failure: A Critique of the Judicial System of the United States

The saying goes, the best teacher is an experience. In this book, Love describes with detailed description story looking for the answer to the question of failure in the law. Be one of the actors who experience failure in the law makes his writing easy to read and has a sense of honesty in every he said. Starting from the beginning of the chapter, a quote like this "the courts of this nation search every case for error and diligently protect the rights of the accused and convicted, but the public doesn’t know that what actually happens in the courts is exactly the opposite" make me believe that the law anywhere has a hole that should be covered. Love also describes the use cases that really happened, as I read, I feel understand what happened, understand the conditions that cause the law looks perforated, the struggle of Love in her case should receive applause for his courage to walk against the current laws that exist. In addition, other cases which he described in the book make this book more interesting to read. Like a dictionary the failure of the law, this book became one of the best reference so that legal experts can refine a system that looks perforated it. This book can also be of encouragement to the convict who also experienced injustice in the law that receives, through this book we can learn what we should do if faced with the same situation. Because in this book there are many various sorts of cases proof of the failure of the system in the law. This book tells the start of the beginning of the case, the search for a way out, efforts to repair the system until the results of the settlement of the issue. In addition, this book also explains how the relationship of American law to other countries. How the legal system is built and run exposed clearly in this book. this book I highly recommend to readers who teparik in the field of law, this book is really clear in the peeling problem between "politics and prisoners", many facts and evidence presented that can be used as a witness is clear that the failure of the system really happens.

[Sophio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I simply admire Mr. Love’s work. We should highlight his deep work which is shown from the number of articles he has in his book, and the ability to define everything easily for the readers. The fact that he started working on some of these articles in the early 2000s is shocking. It was a very interesting book for me because it connected to the tv-series I was watching, about criminals and flaws in the judicial system. As matter of fact, the majority of the events in tv-series were very similar to the real articles in this book. This is also connected to To Kill a Mockingbird which I’m reading at school currently. It is mainly focused on judicial system flaws toward African-Americans, which are brought up in this book as well. I was very much inspired by his words in the introduction when he mentioned “you may not like the messenger, but if you ignore the message because of that, you will do a disservice to yourself and to America as an ideal”, the quote made him trustworthy, which is very important for the readers if the narrator is not trustworthy it always has negative feedback. For me, it was also important how he valued every citizen, no matter his social status. I saw he was aiming for equality, which I appreciate very much, and to be honest, it is a very difficult task to go against the judicial system of the United States of America, and it takes a very courageous man, and we should credit Mr. Love for that. I highly recommend this book to the people who still believe that the USA is a utopia on the earth, sadly it is not and people have to see the reality. I also recommend to the people willing to continue their lives in serving justice. Before choosing a career they have to know to see the real issues. I think these people will enjoy reading this book as much as I did.

[Bedi Nathaniel Worlanyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me forever to select this book from among the tall list, and category of books given to me. I have to read this one because I love "system" for it is indispensable in every aspect of life, and when it fails, people are bound to suffer.

The title of the book intimates that it is a satire, but the content reveals that it is not one of the striking everyday example of a satire. The exquisite and straightforward dedication of the book is the harpoon that got me (and should get anyone reading this) hooked. It foreshadows that the author and publisher is part and parcel of the book, coupled with some notable luminaries of the Judicial System, I anticipate that the critique will be objective. The forward beforehand, and the book in its entirety lends credence to this anticipation. With an authors note, the forward gives a glimpse into the authors journey, the indifference of the American people towards justice, and his future project towards advocating for judicial and prison reform. The forward again reveals that "System failure: A Critique of the Judicial System of the United States" is not only a critique, but also a compedium of solutions to the numerous failures dissected - yeah, not one of the striking everyday example of a satire. The forward written by his attorney and a top legal mind is one of the most significant aspect of this book. The introduction spur you on, and the rest is increasingly breathtaking.

Ever imagined waking up one day to find out that what you were told about your country since childhood is a lie? Well, that was rather a rude awakening for the author. The author, a Vietnam Veteran 30 years after serving his country honorably and receiving an honorable discharge, found himself in prison, sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for an offense he did not only commit but can prove that he did not commit.

"System Failure: A Critique of the Judicial System of the United States" is a battle cry for reform in the Judicial System, albeit one of the best system of justice, is designed and weaponized with impunity to imprison the innocent (the irony) through the actions and inactions of its custodians; those who swear to maintain it's sanctity. It is about meaningful access to the courts. It seeks to provoke change in the Judicial system by creating awareness and bringing to the limelight the most covert of issues. He unearth a leviathan of anomalies whiles trying to prove his innocence, and while taking up the cases of other prisoners. His experience which has cost him everything has given life to this novel book.

The titles (some I believe to be allusion) of the 25 articles written over time to produce this book are not only attractive, but also catchy. They build upon one another, progressively introducing larger concepts in digestible pieces. The diction is top notch as it serves the purpose of the book. The language used is crisp, clear, and simple to read and understand despite the plethora of legal nomenclature. I must admit that some of the issues addressed are technical, but essential, hence its complexity. A copious number of cases, and statistics (backed by methodology) are cited to consolidate the author's position on issues and for reference. The authors knowledge about the subject matter is vast and staggering. His candor and outspokenness is quite admirable.
He at the end pull all the pieces of the articles together and made one last passionate appeal to you and I to hearken to his persistent voice from the battlefield (imagery). He has fought a good fight, and urge on you and I. A catalog of cases cited followed by a little information about the author, and notes sum up this masterpiece.

"System failure: A Critique of the Judicial System of the United States" is a revelation and a bestseller. It's worth the time and every single dollar. It is for this reason, I give it a five-star rating.

[Storm_ocean5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

اولین کتاب زبان اصلی بود که میخوندم:)
یه خورده ادبیات سنگین داشت گاهی رفتم آکسفورد آوردم 😂
اما تموم شد؛)
اگر به سانسور در ایران معترض هستید کتاب زبان اصلی بخونید
اگر به قیمت کتاب معترض هستید نسخه pdf بخرید بخدا هیچی نمیشه:)
من اینو با پی دی اف خوندم :)
تو کتاب نویسنده تصمیم میگیره که چندین مقاله رو یکی کنه تا به نتیجه برسه خیلی مثال میاره تو‌کتاب البته میگه دانش زمینه ای هم لازمه برای درک مثال ها:)
و آخر سر یه نقشه ذهنی خوب بهم داد از قوانین و دادگاه ، و دسترسی معنا دار به چیز هایی که روی ما اثر دارن و غیر قابل انکارن:)و یه چیز هایی برای خود نویسنده اتفاق افتاده که نمیخوام اسپویل کنم ولی انگیزه اش شده تا بنویسه:)
This book was my first book on topic of low in English.as I've mentioned earlier in my language this book was awesome but if you don't understand English as well you need a dictionary:)
The writer was sharing his experience with the reader's and it was soooooo good for me as foreigner to read this book.
I enjoyed reading this book and I would like to recommend people who like knowing about low to read this book;)

[Caribbean Didi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for recommending this read to me, Booktasters.
The book is full of information about the law and media and how things are unfair and controlled by those in power.
It s very relative to the common life and events, very eye opening to the political situation.
It is full of huge information and huge research done by Mr. James F. Love IV.
I really recommend this read to everyone who wants to open their eye and read an important well-researched book.
The author shared stories about people who really stood strong in the face of injustice and suffered all this, I personally have a fainted heart that would not last all this.
Applause.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Falsely accused of a heinous crime, James Love IV tells his story, an inconceivable expose of hypocrisy, inequity and injustice. Within each page is a quiet storm that ultimately left me in a powerful rage.

Cultural and political volatility didn’t begin with James’ arrest-he entered a broken institution and rallied with innocents; the falsely accused. His transformation to a jailhouse lawyer is essential reading for the legal community both novice and seasoned. And it’s essential reading for you. Never think it’s someone else’s story. It could happen to you. Read James F. Love’s System Failure. A critique of the judicial system of the United States.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew that "innocence is not a defense against a guilty verdict" (which is so wrong) but I had never thought in detail about how, why, what that meant, and, most importantly, what to do about it.
This book sets out those details clearly, in short chapters that build on each other for a full picture of the injustice in our justice system. Great book.