Authorpreneur Dashboard – Gabriel Boutros
The Guilty
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Robert Bratt is a veteran defense attorney whose faith in the justice system wavers when a family friend is raped and the rapist is acquitted. He is haunted by doubts over his chosen profession and the violent people he represents. Jennifer Campbell, a devoutly religious woman, hires him to defend her son, Marlon Small, who is accused of a brutal double-murder. Despite Campbell’s protestations, Bratt’s instincts tell him that Small is guilty. But Bratt’s drive to succeed, combined with his sympathy for the heartbroken mother, push him to defend the young man. Can he continue to turn a blind eye to what his client has done, and manipulate the truth as he so often has in the past, all in order to defend "The Guilty?"
Book Bubbles from The Guilty
A fine line between perjury and a good defense
Following up on the earlier scene where attorney Robert Bratt realizes that the alibi witnesses he has are useless, he informs his client that better witnesses have to be found. Or will they just be better liars?
Not the best alibi witness...
Among some of the frustrations a defense attorney might have to deal with before a trial is dealing with alibi witnesses who may not be too honest, or they may not be too bright, or they might not be either honest or bright. This is a small sample of what the lead attorney in my book, Robert Bratt, has to deal with in the lead-up to the murder trial.
Cross-Examination
Although I get my characters to worry about a number of various legal and ethical issues, I'm still trying to entertain the reader. So I have lots of, hopefully dramatic, courtroom scenes with dishonest witnesses and experienced lawyers trying to tear their stories apart in cross-examination. These scenes are the courtroom drama's equivalent of shoot-outs. Sometimes the characters are left quite bloodied by these battles.
Bending the Truth
One of the advantages of writing fiction is getting to say things through your characters which you might not wish to say directly. In my case, I enjoyed having my characters debate legal ethics, the kinds of questions that might occur to those outside the legal profession from time to time, but that are not often discussed out loud within the profession.
First Meeting With a New Client
As a defense lawyer you will often meet with hostile, violent people who are not particularly happy to see you: these are your clients. I thought it was important to show that the relationship between a lawyer and his client is often uncomfortable, and maybe even antagonistic. These are two people who come from two different worlds, and who suddenly have to work very closely together. The lawyer may not particularly like his client, but he is sworn to defend him. The accused may distrust his lawyer, but he has to depend on him to get out of jail.
