Cora’s review of The Plinko Bounce > Likes and Comments
13 likes · Like
Dear Cora: A quick and cordial reply to your review, something I’ve never done in 24 years. I was indeed a PD and a defense attorney. That’s what I did before I became a judge. I’m so old that when I started practicing, we used “the court-appointed list.” There was no actual PD’s office, just a handful of folks like myself who did every single indigent’s case in a three-court circuit, usually for next to no pay. I worked with poor defendants every single day in this system until I went on the bench. PLINKO was written as a celebration of public defenders. I want to make that clear. No way you’d know, but all the PDs in the book are real people. Vikram Kapil is a real person and a close friend and an amazing lawyer. Lynn Dylan-Haley is the gifted Sandy Haley. Judge Christina Leventis is the remarkable former PD Chrstina Leventis Slate—I made her a judge because I think we need a PD’s perspective on the bench, especially when you’re an attorney as brilliant and experienced as Christina. At any rate, I hope you understand my point. I’m heartbroken that you—or anyone--would think I lack empathy for the very people I hoped to elevate. My apologies. PDs are overworked and underappreciated but, as I wrote in PLINKO, usually far better lawyers than the high-flyers with the big reps. At any rate, yours is a thoughtful take on the book, and the failing here is all mine. From where you sit, I did a poor job of telling the story and shining a positive light on a remarkable group of my friends and colleagues, and I did a shoddy job or portraying how they view and relate to their clients. Again, I regret this and hope to do here what I didn’t accomplish in my novel—praise PDs. There’s much more in your review, valid plot, legal and moral points, but that’s what reviews are about, no worries there. Just wanted you to understand I’m a huge PD fan, and I would never, ever intentionally write a book that reflected poorly on my friends and fellow defense lawyers. And, oh, third offense larceny (id est, shoplifting) in Virginia is indeed a felony. All best--MFC
back to top
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Martin
(new)
Jun 04, 2024 06:56AM
Dear Cora: A quick and cordial reply to your review, something I’ve never done in 24 years. I was indeed a PD and a defense attorney. That’s what I did before I became a judge. I’m so old that when I started practicing, we used “the court-appointed list.” There was no actual PD’s office, just a handful of folks like myself who did every single indigent’s case in a three-court circuit, usually for next to no pay. I worked with poor defendants every single day in this system until I went on the bench. PLINKO was written as a celebration of public defenders. I want to make that clear. No way you’d know, but all the PDs in the book are real people. Vikram Kapil is a real person and a close friend and an amazing lawyer. Lynn Dylan-Haley is the gifted Sandy Haley. Judge Christina Leventis is the remarkable former PD Chrstina Leventis Slate—I made her a judge because I think we need a PD’s perspective on the bench, especially when you’re an attorney as brilliant and experienced as Christina. At any rate, I hope you understand my point. I’m heartbroken that you—or anyone--would think I lack empathy for the very people I hoped to elevate. My apologies. PDs are overworked and underappreciated but, as I wrote in PLINKO, usually far better lawyers than the high-flyers with the big reps. At any rate, yours is a thoughtful take on the book, and the failing here is all mine. From where you sit, I did a poor job of telling the story and shining a positive light on a remarkable group of my friends and colleagues, and I did a shoddy job or portraying how they view and relate to their clients. Again, I regret this and hope to do here what I didn’t accomplish in my novel—praise PDs. There’s much more in your review, valid plot, legal and moral points, but that’s what reviews are about, no worries there. Just wanted you to understand I’m a huge PD fan, and I would never, ever intentionally write a book that reflected poorly on my friends and fellow defense lawyers. And, oh, third offense larceny (id est, shoplifting) in Virginia is indeed a felony. All best--MFC
reply
|
flag
