Matt Graham, recently retired from the California Court of Appeal, brings us an unexpected, ribald and raunchy, but soulful and insightful romp, largely from a judge's perspective, into the wild world of the superior court in Van Nuys: "Hidden Behind the Robe: A Courthouse Thriller."
Note: "Matt Graham" is a nom de plume. "Graham reveals he is a son of the San Fernando Valley, a Cal State Northridge and Loyola Law School graduate, and a "state prosecutor" (code for deputy attorney general) who served on the superior court and then the Court of Appeal. So, he knows the legal jungle from multiple inside angles."
"The story is spiced with recognizable locales, watering holes, dumpy restaurants and street vendors in the Valley. Courtroom incidents are based on actual cases Graham came across in his storied career."
"Graham is not trying to push an agenda or critique the justice system. For Dunning and the other characters, the justice system is what it is -- a human institution with all the foibles and flaws people bring to it, held together at the seams by the good men and women who serve in it. This book is pure entertainment. No preaching, no lessons. It's a genuinely fun read that will have insiders, and judges in particular, laughing out loud and nodding in knowing recognition.
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