"Ready for the People": My Most Chilling Cases as a Prosecutor

"Ready for the People": My Most Chilling Cases as a Prosecutor, by Marissa N. Batt. Batt, L.A. deputy district attorney in the criminal division, draws on more than 20 years of experience in recalling her most challenging cases. She also gives readers an uncensored insight into prosecution from the perspective of the people (the state). The cases reflect an uncommon grittiness: rape, arson, attempted murder with multiple victims, a homosexual rape case in Hollywood, and the bludgeoning of an unarmed Mexican immigrant by a self-declared good citizen helping to keep the city clean. In her quest for justice, Batt encounters a homophobic judge and another apparently highly qualified judge who is blinded by the self-righteous motivation of a citizen vigilante, causing him to diminish the life value of the immigrant victim. Batt's compassion toward crime victims and good case preparation are contrasted with rulings that reflect the fragility of our criminal justice system. Batt aptly uses these selected cases to share her insight into human nature and the difficulties that exist on both sides of the law. -Vernon Ford.

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