Far from developing another fictional narrative based on this real, close-to-home drama, Grisham has positioned himself as the lead trial bar corruption denier.
“Until a jury finds (Scruggs) guilty or he pleads guilty, I’m not going to believe it,” Grisham said.
And maybe even not then. Grisham continues to defend convicted judge-briber and ex-Scruggs associate Paul Minor, sentenced last October to eleven years in prison. Once president of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association, Minor was found guilty of a range of charges, including racketeering and bribery of two judges presiding over his cases.
Grisham’s Flat Earth Society analysis: “I never saw what the crime was.”
When it comes to trial lawyers, especially ones he likes, he can’t see well at all.
This failure of vision triggers an idea for our very own novel about a wildly successful writer of legal scandal dramas who gets wrapped up in a real-life dilemma of his own.
We’re calling it “The Hypocrite.” In bookstores soon.
West Virginia Record
2/9/8