Grisham's Juror
by Timothy Braatz
When high school math teacher Guillam Fletcher finds his summer vacation
interrupted by unwanted jury duty, he looks to John Grisham novels for
guidance and soon is imagining a conspiracy at every turn. His search
for the big money connection between a gang-related murder and a
mysterious defense attorney becomes a personal journey into the luxuries
and laments of life in an Orange County beach town. GRISHAM’S JUROR
is set in Laguna Beach, California. Fletcher’s girlfriend, Marissa,
insists the accused murderer—a black man faced with a white jury—is
innocent. When Fletcher discovers that the husband of Marissa’s favorite
client is funding the defense counsel, he cannot believe it is mere
coincidence. By day, Fletcher plays court jester, flirting with fellow
jurors and contempt of court while trying to see justice served. At
night, he and Pete, a fellow teacher and prankster, investigate the
shadowy financial arrangement, trespassing their way into the dinner
parties and hot tubs of upscale Laguna. Marissa’s growing ambivalence,
Pete’s near-death accident, and the unexpected twists of jury
deliberation provoke Fletcher into an examination of his own complacent
existence. He surfs with dolphins; critiques local artists, breast
implants, gated communities, bumper stickers, and John Grisham novels;
and spends too much time in traffic. In a final escapade, Fletcher and
Pete venture into the rough neighborhoods of Los Angeles to find
answers, then scurry back behind the “Orange Curtain.”### About the Author
Timothy Braatz is the author of Surviving Conquest: A History of the Yavapai Peoples and, with Anatol Chari, From Ghetto to Death Camp: A Memoir of Privilege and Luck, published in Germany as Undermensch. His numerous plays include The Devil and the Wedding Dress, Helena Handbasket, and Paper Cuts, and he has served as playwright-in-residence with The Chameleon Theatre Circle in the Minnesota twin cities. He teaches history and peace studies at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California.
interrupted by unwanted jury duty, he looks to John Grisham novels for
guidance and soon is imagining a conspiracy at every turn. His search
for the big money connection between a gang-related murder and a
mysterious defense attorney becomes a personal journey into the luxuries
and laments of life in an Orange County beach town. GRISHAM’S JUROR
is set in Laguna Beach, California. Fletcher’s girlfriend, Marissa,
insists the accused murderer—a black man faced with a white jury—is
innocent. When Fletcher discovers that the husband of Marissa’s favorite
client is funding the defense counsel, he cannot believe it is mere
coincidence. By day, Fletcher plays court jester, flirting with fellow
jurors and contempt of court while trying to see justice served. At
night, he and Pete, a fellow teacher and prankster, investigate the
shadowy financial arrangement, trespassing their way into the dinner
parties and hot tubs of upscale Laguna. Marissa’s growing ambivalence,
Pete’s near-death accident, and the unexpected twists of jury
deliberation provoke Fletcher into an examination of his own complacent
existence. He surfs with dolphins; critiques local artists, breast
implants, gated communities, bumper stickers, and John Grisham novels;
and spends too much time in traffic. In a final escapade, Fletcher and
Pete venture into the rough neighborhoods of Los Angeles to find
answers, then scurry back behind the “Orange Curtain.”### About the Author
Timothy Braatz is the author of Surviving Conquest: A History of the Yavapai Peoples and, with Anatol Chari, From Ghetto to Death Camp: A Memoir of Privilege and Luck, published in Germany as Undermensch. His numerous plays include The Devil and the Wedding Dress, Helena Handbasket, and Paper Cuts, and he has served as playwright-in-residence with The Chameleon Theatre Circle in the Minnesota twin cities. He teaches history and peace studies at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California.