Author! Author!
As my Mom tells it, "There's nothing so bad, that something good can't come from it." After losing a close battle for re-election as a district judge in 2000, I closely examined my options. I could go back to the private practice of law, seek a state government job, or maybe, strike out in a new direction. The first two options were retreads. "Been there; done that," I thought. As fortune would have it, there was an opening on Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation. They were looking for a Chief Prosecutor, no pun intended.
I've always enjoyed trial work. According to my law school contracts professor, Jimmy Brannon, "Winning a jury trial is the most fun you can have with your clothes on." So I applied, was hired, and started work. The downside: a 65-mile commute one-way. I massaged my schedule so that I traveled only four days a week to Fort Yates.
On my days off the rez', I started writing. For several years in the 1980s and 90s, I had lectured at the Law Enforcement Academy in Bismarck on "How to become an effective witness." My audience consisted of new officers taking a nine-week basic training course. As a former teacher, the training filled several of my needs. It got me back in the classroom and gave me a chance to share some of my experience, including numerous blunders, with law enforcement personnel who could benefit from it.
Eventually, I put together a manuscript entitled "A Law Enforcement Officer's Guide to Testifying in Court." My research indicated there were few competitive works on the market. I then set to the task of finding a publisher. These days, it is easy and increasingly common for people to self-publish. But I had neither the money nor inclination to do that. I did more research, looking for publishers who marketed extensively to police academies and college criminal justice programs.
I found what I was looking for in Carolina Academic Press. They liked the manuscript and offered me a contract. Ironically, the day after I signed that contract, I received a similar proposal from a larger publisher, Paladin Press. But I stuck with my bargain and now, a little more than a year later, the book is in print.
It's not a page-turner but contains a few good stories and plenty of solid advice gleaned from trial experts over the years. I had wonderful editing assistance from Janet Daley and from my spouse, for which I am most grateful. You can get a glimpse of the book's contents here.