Steve Bogira’s riveting book takes us into the heart of America’s criminal justice system. Courtroom 302 is the story of one yea...
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Feb 23, 2009
Robyn
rated it: 
So let me first disclose that although I don't know Bogira himself, I did go to high school with his eldest child, Natalie. That has no bearing on my review.
This book, after re-read, still gets 5 stars from me. I first read Courtroom 302 when it was first published since I was just in my 1st year of law school and my parents thought I'd like to read about the criminal system in Cook County (where I grew up).
Fast forward to the present--I'm back in Cook County--and I act More...
This book, after re-read, still gets 5 stars from me. I first read Courtroom 302 when it was first published since I was just in my 1st year of law school and my parents thought I'd like to read about the criminal system in Cook County (where I grew up).
Fast forward to the present--I'm back in Cook County--and I act More...
Nov 03, 2007
Larry
rated it:
It's a good look behind the scenes of the out of control American "justice system". It's well written and very interesting, and you'll find yourself engaged in it despite the fact that there are dozens of characters, which could only be the case figuring the hundreds of thousands who get caught up in the law every year and the thousands employed to sort it all out. It provides a lot of history as well, which makes the book all the more depressing when you notice how little has changed
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Mar 27, 2010
Matt
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Since graduating law school nearly four years ago, I have worked in a courthouse. Among the many things I've learned - turn off your cell phones, don't run from the sheriffs because they have tasers, give the hot dogs a chance because they're not that bad - the thing that stands out is that the classic television show Night Court wasn't that far off the mark. No, I don't work a night shift, and no, there aren't nearly as many colorful characters, but Night Court got a lot right, but with a humor
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Nov 10, 2009
Emily
rated it:
The next book I read was Courtroom 302, in which a Chicago journalist spends a year in a low-level criminal courtroom, observing the judge, prosecutors, public defenders, defendants, witnesses, and jurors. I found the book interesting primarily because the court was very similar to one in which I served as a juror a few years ago, only the author of the book lavishes the kind of research and attention on each defendant that no one in the criminal justice system has time to do. He shows how most
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Aug 13, 2009
Marik
rated it:
This book by Steve Bogira is an account of a courtroom in the Cook County Courthouse. It focuses on one judge and a variety of cases that his court deals with.
Because the book involves a number of defendants and a wide variety of issues, it has less narrative focus than some courtroom books, but it does an excellent job of presenting the complexities of the actual operations of a big-city courthouse and its supporting police, etc., operations that vary in quality from outrageous to c More...
Because the book involves a number of defendants and a wide variety of issues, it has less narrative focus than some courtroom books, but it does an excellent job of presenting the complexities of the actual operations of a big-city courthouse and its supporting police, etc., operations that vary in quality from outrageous to c More...
May 24, 2009
Lobstergirl
rated it:
This account by Chicago Reader reporter Steve Bogira of a year spent
observing Judge Daniel Locallo's courtroom in the Cook County
Criminal Courthouse is fascinating, thoroughly researched, and well
written. Bogira picks a handful of cases from the constant parade of
addicts, drug dealers, accused murderers, aggravated batterers, and
mobsters who pass before Locallo. We meet one 18 year old murder
defendant who wears pigtails and jumpers with Winnie the Pooh More...
observing Judge Daniel Locallo's courtroom in the Cook County
Criminal Courthouse is fascinating, thoroughly researched, and well
written. Bogira picks a handful of cases from the constant parade of
addicts, drug dealers, accused murderers, aggravated batterers, and
mobsters who pass before Locallo. We meet one 18 year old murder
defendant who wears pigtails and jumpers with Winnie the Pooh More...
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Apr 23, 2011
Laura
rated it:
If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would. Unlike most non-fiction, this book held my attention the whole way through; it was a real page-turner.
Bogira gained unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to actors in the criminal justice system: prosecutors, public defenders, judges, victims, family members, defendants, police officers, etc., and he managed to present the subject in (what appeared to be) a balanced manner. Bogira didn't shy away from pointing out ways in whi More...
Bogira gained unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to actors in the criminal justice system: prosecutors, public defenders, judges, victims, family members, defendants, police officers, etc., and he managed to present the subject in (what appeared to be) a balanced manner. Bogira didn't shy away from pointing out ways in whi More...
Feb 05, 2009
Courtroom 302 earned high marks for the extensive reporting and detailed writing that let readers accompany the author behind the scenes of a big-city courthouse. Reviewers also praised Bogira's first book as accurate, precise, authoritative, and comprehensive. But several felt the book's straightforward journalistic approach lacked heart: Courtroom 302s "removed, reportorial tone mirrors the pervasive aloofness of the system itself," public defender David Feige complained in The Was
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Dec 16, 2009
Carl
rated it:
Just an outstanding glimpse into the everyday legal cases that might fill the metro section of any major city newspaper. Bogira follows these cases from the perspective of the judge, the defendant, the DA, the families involved, and the city at large. The book never gets tiresome as there is an excellent mixture of the variety of cases and stories, and the ongoing cases that hook you in from the beginning.
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Jul 05, 2011
Kethra
rated it:
Courtroom 302 is a non-fiction book written by an investigative reporter who spends a year inside one of the busiest criminal courthouses in the nation. Steve Bogira vividly reports all the inner workings of Chicago’s Cook County Criminal Courthouse from all perspectives. He opens the book with the description of the checking-in process of the prisoners awaiting their time in court. The inmates are sworn at and belittled as a “preventative measure” to keep them in line and are herded like cattle
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Dec 18, 2011
Brittany
rated it: 
After spending 1 year in courtroom 302 and countless hours researching, Bogira produced a well-rounded view of the criminal justice system, by way of case studies, as it exists at the courthouse on 26th & California in Chicago. As a (novice) criminal defender in Chicago, I think 26th/Cal is the most beautiful building I have ever seen – I love being there, I love the looming pillared structure, and I love the influx of people, crying and scheming. It gives me chills! I’ve been meaning to read
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Dec 20, 2011
Laura
rated it:
A great look at the criminal justice system, through the eyes of one court observer. Though the author doesn't spend much time editorializing, it's practically impossible to read this book and not come to the conclusion that our justice system is seriously messed up. The author's narrative style makes it an easy read, and it touches on a number of different issues, including drug sentencing, the role of race in the justice system, and the validity of confessions. This book would be a great pa
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May 23, 2010
ambimb
rated it:
This was my second time reading this book. I read it first in about 2004 or 2005 while in law school, and recently picked it up again when I started working for the Cook County Public Defender. The book does a great job of giving readers a well-rounded understanding of how the criminal justice system functions in one of the most populous counties with one of the biggest (and most overcrowded) jails in the country. From Bogira's vantage point, it appears that lower level felony cases are just pro
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Feb 19, 2010
Eric_W
rated it:
Courtroom 302 describes a world most of us will never see, nor would we wish to.
"No man can examine the great penal system of this country without being astounded at its magnitude, its cost and its unsatisfactory results," said John Altgeld, Cook County judge and later governor of Illinois in 1890. At that time, the end result was the imprisonment of fifty thousand citizens. Today the yield is 1.5 million.
Ironically the vast majority of those in the system are t More...
"No man can examine the great penal system of this country without being astounded at its magnitude, its cost and its unsatisfactory results," said John Altgeld, Cook County judge and later governor of Illinois in 1890. At that time, the end result was the imprisonment of fifty thousand citizens. Today the yield is 1.5 million.
Ironically the vast majority of those in the system are t More...
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Aug 20, 2010
Jen
rated it:
A compelling year-in-the-life-of a courtroom at Cook County Courthouse in Illinois, showing what a grind and numbers game day-to-day "justice" really is. It's a real eye-opener about the status-quo flaws of the justice system. One particularly revealing case I thought was where the defense and the prosecution were both arguing a case using a version of events that both sides knew to be untrue.
I was surprised by Bogira's ability to get so many different types of people to t More...
I was surprised by Bogira's ability to get so many different types of people to t More...
May 02, 2010
Jae
rated it:
Fascinating account of a reporter's year spent in the courtroom of one judge in Chicago, covering the cases and talking to the people who passed through. One thing the book really brought home was the sheer overwhelming number of cases that come through the court each year, so many that judges and attorneys spend mostly spend only a few minutes or less determining the outcome of each hearing, so many that the courtroom really appears more like an overworked factory than an instrument of justice.
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Dec 14, 2007
Paul
rated it:
ProDefense book on life at the Chicago criminal courthouse. I read it before i started work and went in with sympathy for the plight of the defendants. Once I heard from the victims, my focus changed to realizing the courtroom as a whole is filled with tragedy. From the first defendant I came across with a tattoo on his arm "Loved by Few" to the 80 year old mother of the murder victim who grabbed my arm and in frail spanish yelled lucha which means fight. The author spends a year
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Mar 16, 2009
Dan
rated it:
Another absolutely gripping book on Chicago's criminal justice system, also by a journalist, but with a broader focus that Defenders of the Damned. Bogira covers the system more broadly that Davis; his focus is mainly on the Judge who presides in the eponymous courtroom. So he gives much more play to the prosecutors & an extremely discouraging portrait of the judges, particularly the huge public pressure they feel in high-profile cases because they must run for election every 4 years or so.
Jul 16, 2010
Heather
rated it:
This book is extremely depressing but wonderfully written. Bogira is very even-handed in his description of all the people who pass through the country's largest felony court, in Cook County, IL (Chicago). His fair treatment of defendants, judges, court staff, lawyers, and police is an excellent reminder that the law is many things but above all it's a human institution. While I can't ever see myself working in the criminal court system instead of the civil one, I'm very glad I read this boo
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Jun 05, 2010
Billy
rated it:
Pulp non-fiction. Laments the many cut corners of procedural justice in criminal prosecutions through vivid real-life stories. The candor of all the players here - judges, prosecutors, public defenders, sheriff's deputies, and the defendants themselves - is sometimes startling. Although not a policy polemic itself, it illustrates through actual individual cases how the war on drugs is effectively structured mainly as a control and containment strategy for the black/brown and poor. A surreal
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Jul 26, 2011
Cindy
rated it:
very intersting and detailed account of one year in a Cook count, Chicago criian courtroom. Bogira is even-handed and thorough in his research and interviews. It did bog down for me with the political elements, but that's just my lack of interest. The history of chicago presented here was new and interesting. But IMHO, no matter how even-handed Bogira tried to be, Judge Locallo comes off as a biased, bigoted, know-it-all.
oh, and 8 pt Times New Roman type??? my eyes! my eyes!!
oh, and 8 pt Times New Roman type??? my eyes! my eyes!!
Jun 21, 2008
Abby
rated it:
Further proof that I cannot go into law or politics. This extremely insightful book follows one Chicago criminal courtroom over the course over a year, detailing several of the cases, big and small, that take place in Judge Locallo's courtroom. The author does a good job matter-of-factly describing everyone's roles in this broken system. He allows everyone (judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, defendants, witnesses, jury members, police officers, courthouse staff, etc.) to speak for themse
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Sep 02, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
loves it!
"All it takes for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing"--Edmund Burke
"Intelligent people know that every human being is teh product of the endless heredity back of him and the infinite environment around him"--Clarance Darrow
Interesting learning..."notwithstanding a widespread public belief that insanity acquittals are common, insanity defenses are rarely even attempted....less than one percent of all felony cases and...successful onl More...
"All it takes for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing"--Edmund Burke
"Intelligent people know that every human being is teh product of the endless heredity back of him and the infinite environment around him"--Clarance Darrow
Interesting learning..."notwithstanding a widespread public belief that insanity acquittals are common, insanity defenses are rarely even attempted....less than one percent of all felony cases and...successful onl More...
Dec 28, 2008
Erica
rated it:
Really fascinating. This is a true look at how the criminal justice system works in our country today. It's not always pretty and it's not always as dramatic as that crap you see on TV. Sometimes it's down right frightening. This is what an overburdened, underfunded court system really looks like. This is a really interesting read for anyone- experienced in law or not.
Nov 04, 2010
Kathryn
rated it:
Complete page turner. Having lived in Chicago all my life and being an avid follower of the criminal justice system, I remembered several of the cases that came through this courtroom. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has a true fascination for life and death, good and evil and justice and truth (and who knows that these don't always go hand in hand).
Aug 16, 2009
Ann
rated it:
This was an intense read about the court system in Chicago, especially the city jail and the legal work that goes on behind the scenes (or is behind the scenes to most of us). Excellent. It took me a while to finish this book, but it was well worth the time.
I would like to give it 3 1/2 stars, but that's not an option...
I would like to give it 3 1/2 stars, but that's not an option...
Dec 24, 2008
Michael
rated it:
Very reminiscent of my time in DC Superior Court.
It took me a while to finish this, but I feel like it plods on. A lot of the chapters get to feeling very similar. Nonetheless, it does a great job of capturing the feel of working in a meatgrinder of a justice system.
This book at times feels biased, but not necessarily in terms of a defense or prosecution biased. Instead, I might characterize it as jaded, constantly having a sense of idealism contrasted with the reali More...
It took me a while to finish this, but I feel like it plods on. A lot of the chapters get to feeling very similar. Nonetheless, it does a great job of capturing the feel of working in a meatgrinder of a justice system.
This book at times feels biased, but not necessarily in terms of a defense or prosecution biased. Instead, I might characterize it as jaded, constantly having a sense of idealism contrasted with the reali More...
Jul 26, 2011
A true report on the events of a single courtroom that reads like a popular novel. It is a gutwrenching depiction of the court engaging in a manic efficiency, producing as many "widgets of justice" as possible. It is arguably "The Jungle" for the court, with sentences and pleas taking the place of sausage.
Jul 26, 2011
Kurt
rated it:
This is a gripping account of the day-to-day business in one felony courtroom in Chicago. It covers personal lives of judges, court officers, lawyers, defendants, and other people involved in the system, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a more realistic view of the criminal justice system than what's available on TV.
May 03, 2010
Noah
rated it:
Just outstanding. The depth of research in this book and the quality of the storytelling are both hard to top. It provides a very detailed, grounded perspective on the wrong and right of the American criminal justice system that never preaches or falls too deeply in love with its own anecdotes. Highly recommended.
