"What’s the best book about the law ever written?"

A question asked of Scott Turow, who answers: 

“A Theory of Justice,” by John Rawls. It’s not beach reading, but I don’t know of a more lucid articulation of the intuitions many of us share about what is just. Among works of fiction, Melville’s “Billy Budd” would be my first choice, especially in the present day, when the sexual undertones that once dared not speak their name are so apparent.

Because if you want to do some great law writing, you're going to want those sexual undertones. 

Also, I'm interested that Turow cites of "The Count of Monte Cristo" as the book that has had "the greatest impact" him, because that was my father's favorite book. Apparently, it's quite thrilling. I've never read it. I'm adding that to my Kindle. Why have I always resisted reading the one book my father encouraged me to read? How would my life had been different if I yielded to just that one suggestion (let alone all the other things my father would have encouraged)?

Scott Turow advocates amending the Constitution to restrict free speech.

It's never been done, but he thinks it's time now, and he recommends this push for a constitutional amendment as the next step for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

"In trying to talk prosecutors out of weak cases, I have been told more than once, 'I wasn’t there, man, and neither were you. Let the 12 of them figure it out.'"

Writes Scott Turow (in an op-ed about Dominique Strauss-Kahn):

In practice, this means that even defendants who are probably innocent must endure the anguish of trial. I once represented a young man in a gang murder case who had been arrested and indicted along with eight other people, even though his name was never mentioned in the grand jury testimony. Although it seemed clear that the police had mistaken this young man for his brother, both the prosecutors and the judge told me to “put it on,” meaning go to trial; the client sat in court for several days, in jeopardy of a lengthy prison term, before the case against him was finally dismissed.