BOOK REVIEW

Coppock on Tennessee Adoption Law

By Dawn Coppock • Lexis-Nexis • $125 • 571 pages + CD • 2003

Reviewed by Miles Mason Sr.

Dawn Coppock is a practicing attorney based in Strawberry Plains, Tenn., limiting her practice to adoption law. Her book, Coppock on Tennessee Adoption Law, provides a practical and thorough reference source for the difficult and often confusing area of Tennessee adoption law. We have seen many statutory changes over the last several years in this area, resulting in numerous interesting challenges for practitioners.

The book provides very important practical tips for the adoption attorney, adding value to the reader's practice. It cross-references authority for the positions cited, including the Tennessee Code Annotated and both published and unpublished cases. Because the book is published by LexisNexis, the book includes pertinent sections of the Tennessee Code with annotations, the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure with Advisory Commission Comments, and the United States Code with comments. The adoption practitioner will not need to stray from this book very often, if at all. The book also lists additional administrative resources with the State of Tennessee and relevant web site addresses for legal contacts necessary to perform work as an adoption attorney. As would be expected, the book includes numerous forms. Also included with the book is a CD-Rom which includes the forms. The reviewer was able to load the CD (and the software to run the CD) and upload the forms from the CD in under five minutes.

Coppock on Tennessee Adoption Law is easy to read, authoritative, and chock full of helpful commentary. It contains all the reference material an adoption attorney would need. For attorneys handling adoptions, whether experienced or not, the book is highly recommended.

The Last Juror

By John Grisham • Doubleday/Random House • $27.95 • 355 pages • 2004

Reviewed by Donald F. Paine

As many of you know, I confine reading to nonfiction these days. The exception is Grisham's work product, consisting of 17 novels to date. This one is my favorite.

The protagonist is a young upstart newspaper editor, Willie Traynor, born and raised in Memphis but educated in Yankeedom. In 1970 he finds himself in charge of the Clanton Times, the weekly in Ford County, Mississippi. His first major story concerns a brutal rape/murder and the arrest and trial of Danny Padgitt, a scion of the notorious outlaw clan on Padgitt Island. Testifying despite his counsel's advice, the accused is destroyed on cross. As he leaves the witness stand he yells at the jury: "You convict me, and I'll get every damned one of you!" The jury convicts but is hung on the death penalty. The 12 vow never to reveal the vote tally.

A corrupt parole system and bribe money spring Danny from Parchman nine years later. And murders of jurors begin. But it turns out that the victims had voted against execution. Why? You'll see.

I strongly urge you to get the unabridged audio version, a $49.95 gem read by Michael Beck and published by Random House. Having spent my service days in south Georgia and Alabama (no, I'm not running for president), I can vouch that Mr. Beck has the accent down pat. His rendition of lawyer Harry Rex Vonner talking while rolling an unlit cigar across the tongue is not to be missed.

Whatever version you prefer, enjoy this story before Hollywood ruins it.