No Defense

by Rangeley Wallace

  Rangeley Wallace moved from the South toWashington, D.C. where she is an author and a lawyer. She is the author of No Defense and Things are going to Slide (Bev Editions).

  Praise for No Defense:

  “Wallace avoids any Grisham-come-lately clichés in this interesting novel of southern justice... This page-turner of a novel is refreshing in it’s uncommon perspective, as opposed to the usual legal novel that focuses on lawyers.”

  Booklist

  “A riveting courtroom drama…Another fine story in the Southern literary tradition”

  Library Journal

  “Rangeley Wallace has written a taut, compelling Southern drama that is cut from the same cloth as Harper Lee and the early William Faulkner.”

  Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book (and I) have benefited from the editorial input and support of a long list of folks, including, in no particular order, Martine Bellen, Alex Logan, Lois Gilbert, and Herta Feely. I am grateful to my agent, Beverley Slopen, who has worked tirelessly to find this book a home and finally made it happen. Without my friends and colleagues in the Clinic at the Washington College of Law, American University, especially Professor Elliot Milstein (AKA the oldest living clinician) who first taught me when I was a Clinic student many, many years ago, then welcomed me to the Clinic faculty at WCL, I could not have written this book. He, together with Professors David Chavkin and Robert Dinerstein, has given me much-needed guidance, for which I am especially thankful. If I have distorted or exaggerated any Clinic theories or practices, know it was in the name of the story. Special thanks also to Professor Debra Tuerkheimer at DePaul University College of Law and Toni Blake, Esq. who graciously shared their time and knowledge about Shaken Baby Syndrome and wrongful convictions, an issue aptly referred to by Professor Tuerkheimer as the “next Innocence Project.” Finally, for their boundless love and endless support, my thanks to my husband, Jim, and our children, Daniel, Jamie, Emma and Jack.