Synopsis
Drawing on a career spanning four decades, retired prosecutor Albert C. Bender gives a rare glimpse into the mysterious and often unknown world of the District Attorney's office. Each chapter is very readable and recounts a distinct episode from that career, an episode in which the author was an actual participant or an observer. Early chapters entertain with true stories which reveal much about how the criminal justice system was conducted beginning way back when Lyndon Johnson was President of the United States and young men were being drafted to fight a war in a distant country that most people had never heard of. A traffic offender is admonished that he should just "pick a number" and that would be his fine. A judge suggests that a criminal defendant, who plead not guilty and wants a jury trial, should tell his story now to his "peers" (his fellow inmates waiting to be arraigned). Later chapters shed valuable insight into controversies such as "the twinkie defense" used by Dan White, who murdered Mayor Mosconi and Harvey Milk; the fiasco which resulted when Rose Bird became Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court; and awkward situations facing the prosecuting attorney when a witness becomes confused while testifying. The final chapters provide insight into serious felony cases, such as rapes, domestic violence, and homicides, in which the author was the trial attorney for the prosecution. And, scattered throughout the book are many fascinating and even bizarre episodes that would be unbelievable but for the fact that the author claims to have observed it all from his front row seat in the criminal justice arena.
About the Author
Albert C. Bender is a retired prosecuting attorney. He spent most of his professional career employed by the Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney, State of California. He retired in November of 2004 after more than 36 years of service. Mr. Bender is a graduate of Wheaton College, Illinois (B.A.) and Stanford University Law School (J.D.). During law school he was an editor of the Stanford Law Review, and also worked for the California Law Revision Commission. While a prosecutor, he handled some of the most complex and demanding cases, including the massive theft of trade secrets case in the early 1970's in which IBM's new disk drive technology was stolen and widely disseminated, homicide cases involving mental defenses, and homicide cases alleging special circumstances (triggering the possibility of the death penalty). He was also heavily involved in a wide range of activities in addition to actual trial work. He became very active in the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA), which was incorporated in 1974. He served on its Board of Directors (1977-1979), its Legislative Committee (1975 through 2004), and numerous other boards, ad-hoc committees, and standing committees. In addition, he wrote or contributed to the writing of numerous articles and position papers on various criminal justice issues. He was also an instructor for CDAA and other groups on numerous occasions on a variety of issues including felony sentencing, and mental defenses, such as diminished capacity and insanity, which are frequently raised as a defense in homicide cases. Upon retirement in 2004, Mr. Bender was the recipient of John J. Meehan Career Achievement Award by CDAA.
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