biographies

For any who lack faith in the America's legal system or think all lawyers are worthy subjects of jokes, Tucker's book is the proverbial lightbulb in the cave. Tucker recounts his journey through a lengthy career as a trial lawyer and along the way demonstrates that our judicial system, while short of perfect, is still the best in the world. Tucker helped the poor, the wealthy, the politically powerful and powerless and the reviled through the judicial system. Some cases he won; some he lost.
Win or lose, however, Tucker fought the good fight for his clients, often pro bono.
His story is complete. He reveals the importance of trial preparation -- an element that truly separates competent lawyers from their clumsy brethern (the latter of which I always seem to retain; while the former retain me as an expert witness). Tucker tells some wonderful stories about judges, good and bad. Like Tucker, I am from the Chicago area and am very familiar with bad judges. Tucker discloses that there have been many good judges in the area as well and provides useful insight into their judicial reasoning.
All in all, a wonderful book that will redeem lost faith in our judicial system. "Trial and Error" is not a courtroom thriller: it is far better than one -- it's real life and I for one am glad that Tucker decided to take the time to write his memoir. It is well worth reading.

Jerry

Twenty-one different courtroom cases are covered in this book by a most successful attorney who has his head on straight; by that I mean he mixes the intricacies of the law with living a "normal" life. He certainly puts in long hours in preparation, but that goes along with his job. The author states, "In the American Legal System, a lawyer's job is not to seek justice, but to win the case for his client." He relates many interesting cases, but two exceptional ones are defending a rapist who is truly mentally defective and one about defending the "Chicago Eight" in 1968. A lot of detailed information about that political incident is fascinating. Mr. Tucker does a lot of pro bono work and one of this type was defending the Contract Buyers League in Chicago...a race conflict of great proportions. Fine writing delineates complex legal cases that are most understandable.