The Jailhouse Lawyer is On Sale Today!

It Started with a Motion for a Law Book

Today marks the release of my book, The Jailhouse Lawyer, with Sophie Cull. You can find it at any major retailer (e.g. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org) or your local bookstore.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had the chance to share the book with some amazing people, including Terry Gross with Fresh Air, Scott Simon with NPR’s Weekend Edition, Tavis Smiley, Carole Zimmer, and more.

We’ll be celebrating in New Orleans this Thursday and we’d love for you to join us. Register here.

(Tip: to find Georges Auditorium, look for Dillard’s Professional Schools & Sciences Building on your map app.)

When an interviewer recently asked how the idea for The Jailhouse Lawyer came about, Sophie and I looked at each other, unsure how to answer. In some ways, it began long before we realized.

First, on the road to Shreveport soon after my release from prison in 2011, when Sophie asked about my life and I shared it in pieces. Then, years later, when Sophie and her husband, Bidish, took a trip with me to Mount Hood in Oregon, where I was arrested in 1982 for a murder I didn’t commit.

Though my future was ripped away from me the day I was taken from that place, I never let go of Mount Hood in my mind. Throughout my incarceration, it remained my hope. On my 52nd birthday, when I walked once again through its old growth forests and saw the Clackamas River, something happened.

April 18, 2015, standing at the Clackamas River.

I won’t spoil it (you’ll have to read the book) but looking back, I think that was the day The Jailhouse Lawyer was born.

Here we are, ten years on, and I can’t quite believe I’m holding it in my hands.

Thanks for celebrating with me.

Once you’ve read the book, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review on Goodreads, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble to help other readers discover it.

And…

Do you have loved ones, friends, or clients in prison or jail? If so, we’d be honored to send them a special edition softcover of The Jailhouse Lawyer. Just let us know their address.

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From the Lockerbox

Today I want to share the story that inspired the cover of my book, about the first motion I ever filed in court—the motion I’m still most proud of.

It was 1984 and I was in the parish jail facing the death penalty for a crime I didn’t commit. An old-timer named Big Dugger had warned me: “If you can’t afford a lawyer, you better become one.”

The Code of Criminal Procedure was the state’s legal rule book governing how criminal trials worked in Louisiana, and if I was to have any hope of saving myself, I knew I needed one.

So, I drafted a motion:

At first, my Motion for a Law Book was turned down because I sent it to the wrong court. When I found out it had to go to the trial court instead, I was sure my judge would reject it.

But the next time I was brought up from the jail, I saw my judge instruct the bailiff to hand something to my lawyer. He looked as surprised as me when he saw what it was: a Code of Criminal Procedure. “Apparently you asked for this,” he said after court adjourned. “Don’t let them take it away.”

Back in the courtroom holding cell, I wondered what to do. The rules were clear: we weren’t allowed to take anything back to the jail. Even a law book was considered contraband.

But when I approached the sheriff’s deputy at the door to the stairwell, for some reason, he let me pass. And so did the next one. By the time I got back to the dormitory, the book still tucked safely under my arm, I felt like Moses parting the Red Sea.

I lay the law book on my cot, watching it sink into the thin mattress, heavy with a thousand procedural rules I had to learn. I stared in disbelief. Not only had I filed my first motion, I’d won it.

I couldn’t save myself from a wrongful conviction like I’d hoped, but that motion changed my life. It taught me that I could win against impossible odds, and it launched my legal career.

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Some “Sanity-Saving” Humor

Sister Helen Prejean has a new book coming out of her own: a graphic novel adaptation of Dead Man Walking. Knowing the impact Dead Man Walking has had inspiring people to work for justice, I’m so happy the graphic novel will bring this story to life in a whole new way.

The script was written by Rose Vines, whose newsletter is a must read. Rose’s last post, about how Sr. Helen has a public washing machine named for her, gave me some much-needed comic relief. I hope you enjoy it.

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Thanks for marking this special day with me!

Take care,

Calvin