DOWN AND DIRTY JUSTICE: A Chilling Journey into the Dark World of Crime and the Criminal Courts

Exemplifying how the demands of marketing can triumph over the dictates of accuracy, this modest and evenhanded look at our troubled justice system is far from the terrifying journey the subtitle suggests. When Lowenthal, a law professor at Arizona State University, descends from the lofty heights of academe to grind out a nine-month sabbatical in the trenches of Maricopa County's courtrooms, he discovers only the prosaic reality of an understaffed and underpaid municipal court struggling to work through its ever-mounting case loads. As a volunteer county prosecutor, Lowenthal witnesses a beleaguered bureaucracy where defense lawyers, prosecutors, defendants, victims and judges alike are helplessly entangled in irrational legalities and rigid policies, and where fatigue, animosity and the "conservation of judicial resources" often tip the scales of justice. Yet this account is more a critical evaluation than shocking exposé. Most of the book follows the author's most significant felony case, Shilling v. Arizona , in which Steve Schilling, a biker and junk dealer, was accused of kidnapping and torturing a friend who he believed had filched his collection of rare coins. After three years of trial postponements, Schilling is eventually convicted, but Lowenthal's victory is diminished when he reflects on the sloppiness and carelessness of the proceedings. Part memoir, part journalism and part appeal for reform, this sensible, well-written book is a fine introduction to the challenges facing our justice system today. (Dec.)