Lawyer Games: After Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - Softcover

Kirkland, Dep

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1457539454 ISBN 13: 9781457539459

Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing, LLC, 2015

Synopsis

"Riveting..."  -Kirkus Reviews

"[A] fascinating insight into a criminal justice system that is more interested in winning than in justice. A must read for anyone who wants to know the truth about legal mind games." -Aphrodite Jones, "Investigation Discovery" TV host and NYT bestselling author

LAWYER GAMES is the TRUE story of the murder case that gave rise to the book and Clint Eastwood directed motion picture, Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil. But this book goes far beyond the boundaries of a single murder case. No reader of LAWYER GAMES will ever again look the same way at a criminal trial.

In the early morning of May 2, 1981, Danny Hansford was shot dead by James Williams with a World War II vintage Luger in a historic Savannah mansion. For the next eight-and-a-half years, through four murder trials and intrigue which reached the highest levels of Georgia politics-including a former governor and the Georgia Supreme Court-lawyers battled over whether the 50-year-old Williams shot the 21-year-old Hansford in self-defense.

Written by Dep Kirkland, who arrived at the scene when Hansford's body was still on the floor, Lawyer Games is the true story of this remarkable case. Kirkland, the Chief Assistant DA at the time, made the decision to arrest Williams and tried the first of four murder trials alongside the district attorney. His firsthand knowledge allows him not only to deeply analyze the murder case but also to expose the legal mischief spawned when a defendant facing unshakable physical evidence possesses almost unlimited funds.

LAWYER GAMES is not merely the story of an infamous murder case. It is the story of lawyer obfuscation, subterfuge and manipulation of the criminal trial process. These are common tools of a certain species of defense lawyer. LAWYER GAMES demonstrates the connection by drawing parallels with other high-profile criminal defendants, including O.J. Simpson, Phil Spector, Angelo Bruno (one of two Hillside Stranglers) and others.

True crime aficionados will be drawn to the two stories told in the book: The riveting story of the case, its evidence (including facts never heard in the courtroom), trials and results, and the incredible eight-year campaign to beat a murder rap no matter what, with a look behind the curtain at a darker side of the American criminal justice system.

About this title

About the Author

Dep Kirkland is a writer, actor, and director currently living in California. A Savannah native, Dep entered the legal field after UGA Law School, practicing privately and in two stints with the District Attorney's Office, the second as Chief Assistant. Later appointed to head a state agency, Dep was recruited to design an Anti-Piracy Task Force for the Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association, creating a national task force of former FBI agents, while serving as the SBCA's General Counsel.

Dep was admitted to practice before state and federal courts including the U.S. Supreme Court. He served as Chair of the State Bar Prison & Jail Problems Committee, vice-chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section Corrections & Sentencing Committee, and chair of subcommittees on Correctional Education, Electronic Incarceration, and Victim Restitution.  A graduate of the NDAA Career Prosecutor Course, Dep was also named a Life Fellow of the Georgia Bar Foundation. He was also cross-designated as a federal prosecutor.

Dep later left the SBCA to serve as a consultant to the Edison Project, a planned nationwide network of cutting-edge private schools conceived by Chris Whittle, the visionary founder and head of Whittle Communications, working with Benno Schmidt, the former President of Yale University, and Hamilton Jordan, former Chief of Staff to President Jimmy Carter.

Eventually, to the momentary consternation of his mother, Dep walked away from the legal field to pursue his dream--acting, writing, and directing for the stage and film. He moved to New York City and studied with renowned acting teacher, mentor and friend, Fred Kareman.

Now residing in the Los Angeles area, Dep continues to act, write, direct and produce, for the stage, television and film. He is currently Chairman of Isle of Hope Entertainment, LLC and is launching production of the first of a series of nine feature films.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing, LLC
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1457539454
• ISBN 13: 9781457539459
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 412