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Village Books
Amazon
What happens when a judge orders you, an attorney, to do something that you cannot possibly do without putting yourself in even greater legal jeopardy? What happens when you’re threatened with contempt of court for failing to follow the judge’s demand? That’s the crux of the legal issue faced by Sacramento trial attorney Mike Zorich in Contempt of Court, the first novel in writer Ken Malovos’ series about the Sacramento, Calif. lawyer.
The threat of contempt is only one piece of the troubles that surround Zorich. He’s mugged, his home is broken into, his computer is stolen, a stranger tries deliberately to run him off the road, and even more weighs on his shoulders.
Why is this happening to him? And could all these issues be related? Is this punishment by a former client for unsuccessfully defending him when he was a legal defender? Maybe someone in a current civil case he’s representing has strong enough reasons to want him harassed. And why does the judge in that complex case present him with an impossible issue: to hand over documents that another judge in the same case has ordered to be kept under seal or face contempt of court, including jail time?
This is a good novel for readers who enjoy legal fiction told with a a deep dive into the law.
Contempt of Court offers an intimate view of the everyday world of a working attorney. Readers get an insider’s glimpse of Zorich’s law practice as well as how he as an attorney works with a colleague who is defending him. One of the strongest parts of the book is Zorich’s recollection of how he dismantled a hostile witness in court through skillful interrogation. It’s a close-up look of how an attorney operates in court that is not often given enough time in TV shows and other legal dramatizations.
Zorich is an emotionally compelling protagonist, struggling as he copes with the loss of his late wife to cancer, his relationship with his college-age son, and with a girlfriend who must walk the difficult line of being the new woman in his life after his tragic loss. But primarily this is a book about the practice of law and how those who serve learn how to abide by and pervert the causes of justice.
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