Grisham’s book is timely with modest 'Appeal'

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John Grisham’s “The Appeal” focuses on the dark side of electing appellate judges. He writes about the influence politics and outside money can have in an election process where the voters know so little about the candidates and the appellate system.

This is a timely read in Wisconsin, given the amount of money spent in our 2007 and 2008 state Supreme Court races, by the campaigns and outside groups.

The book revolves around a massive $41-million jury verdict against a chemical company that illegally dumped carcinogenic toxins, which found their way into a small town’s drinking water. As a result, so many people were sickened, stricken with cancer, or died that the area was dubbed “cancer county.”

The heroes of the book are two small-town attorneys, who risk financial ruin to bring the case of a woman whose husband and son died as a result of the toxic dumping. Their victory will open the doors for additional litigation against the company and possible cleanup of the water, but only if the verdict is not overturned on appeal.

Grisham’s evil CEO wants to make sure that doesn’t happen, so he enlists the services of a government relations group to help unseat a sitting moderate justice on Mississippi’s Supreme Court and replace her with one sympathetic to insurance companies and big business.

Throughout the story Grisham takes shots at big business, political machines, government relations groups, and mass tort lawyers. He also shows uninformed voters being led like sheep to choose a candidate who will work against their best interests.

Grisham is so caught up in presenting his indictment of electing appellate judges that some of the characters, such as the head of Krane Chemical Co. and a greedy U.S. senator, seem overblown and lacking in depth.

He even offers an author’s note criticizing the election of appellate judges. However, he fails to consider that even when judges are appointed, the process involves partisan governors with their own political agendas. There is no ideal process for selecting the members of our highest courts, but we definitely need to improve the processes we have in place.

Depending on their political leanings, readers will likely have strong responses to “The Appeal.” I found it a very engaging and somewhat uncomfortable read. But once the journey began, I couldn’t wait to see where it would end.

The book, originally released in hardcover by Doubleday (January 29, 2008), came out in paperback last November.