The Secret Barrister - Stories of The Law and How it's Broken (Book)
Synopsis
Winner of the Books are My Bag Non-Fiction Award.
Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year.
Shortlisted for Specsavers Non-Fiction Book of the Year.
"I'm a barrister, a job which requires the skills of a social worker, relationship counsellor, arm-twister, hostage negotiator, named driver, bus fare-provider, accountant, suicide watchman, coffee-supplier, surrogate parent and, on one memorable occasion, whatever the official term is for someone tasked with breaking the news to a prisoner that his girlfriend has been diagnosed with gonorrhoea."
Welcome to the world of The Secret Barrister.
These are the stories of life inside the courtroom. They are sometimes funny, often moving and ultimately life-changing. How can you defend a child-abuser you suspect to be guilty? What do you say to someone sentenced to ten years who you believe to be innocent? What is the law and why do we need it? And why do they wear those stupid wigs?
From the criminals to the lawyers, the victims, witnesses and officers of the law, here is the best and worst of humanity, all struggling within a broken system which would never be off the front pages if the public knew what it was really like.
Both a searing first-hand account of the human cost of the criminal justice system, and a guide to how we got into this mess, The Secret Barrister wants to show you what it's really like and why it really matters.
The focus of the book is the criminal - rather than the civil - justice system and all those connected with it; from judges and magistrates to the court staff and the defendants themselves, not to mention the state of most of the court buildings; some growing old gracefully, others positively decrepit.
Details
Choice of 2 options . . . Please select/choose your book using the rectangular buttons shown - where appropriate the title, the price, the SKU will alter automatically.
- 2nd Hand Hardback
- Format : Standard 2nd Hand Hardback with Dust Jacket
- Condition : Very Good
- Category : Non-Fiction - Law, Society & Social Sciences
- Published : 2018 (Macmillan - 1st Edition, 14th Printing)
- ISBN : 9781509841103
- SKU : B000898-1
- PPC : SP650gm
- RRP : £16.99
- Quantity Available : 1 only.
- 2nd Hand Paperback
- Format : Standard 2nd Hand Paperback
- Condition : As New
- Category : Non-Fiction - Law, Society & Social Sciences
- Published : 2018 (Macmillan)
- ISBN : 9781509841141
- SKU : B000898-2
- PPC : SP300gm
- RRP : £9.99
- Quantity Available : 1 only.
External Reviews
"Terrifying and occasionally hilarious . . . this is an eye-opening, if depressing, account of the practice of law today. Perhaps there is hope, but the author leaves us in no doubt that urgent reform is needed." - The Observer.
"This excellent book will hopefully raise awareness of what has been, until now, a silent crisis. It is at once a vicious polemic, a helpful primer and a cringe-inducing account of one barrister's travails." - Daily Telegraph.
"The unfolding calamity in our criminal justice system is best told in The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It’s Broken. This angry yet forensic analysis from first arrest to prison is a gripping front-line view by an anonymous, lowly criminal barrister. Read and rage at evidence that “every day the provably guilty walk free”, while the hapless needlessly end up in jail." - Polly Toynbee, The Guardian.