by Alan L. Nobler
A young woman’s horrific injury from domestic violence compels her attorney to battle the complex court system seeking justice on her behalf.
In mere seconds of powerful force during a drunken sexual assault, Carol Collins’ husband breaks her neck. Fleeing from the abusive relationship, required to wear a medical halo, she seeks counsel from her attorney, mental health counselors, and family court judges to cope with the fallout on her son, herself, and her future, seeking just compensation from the influential Collins family.
With an easy-to-read pacing and style, California attorney Alan L. Nobler brings decades of experience dealing with Silicon Valley’s family court system into this starkly compelling novel, underlining not only how far we have come in dealing with issues of domestic violence, but how much progress still remains.
Framed as a discussion between retired attorney Steve Gregory helping his 17-year-old grandson Harris choose a career, Steve’s vivid descriptions of his most memorable case–The Collins Case–shed light on how victims’ choices are limited; how real estate wealth creation can and has influenced politics and prosecutorial conduct; how logistics of time and space can shape outcomes as much as right and wrong; and how even when the system appears rigged against helpless victims, creative strategies and collaborative approaches can bring about justice, despite those obstacles.
For those who have never faced the kinds of immediate decisions foisted upon law-abiding citizens dealing with criminal conduct of others, or coped with the unimaginable delays of scheduling calendars, limited expertise and funds, this fictional account of the reality of what is involved in shepherding a case through the court system is eye-opening.
Reviews
“This book is terrific! Alan has a knack for dialogue and pacing. The story moves very quickly…timely and compelling. Alan handled difficult issues with sensitivity, and he explained the complexities of the legal system deftly. I look forward to his next one.“
Sheldon Siegel
New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling author of the Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez series of critically acclaimed courtroom dramas.
When I read this book, it reminded me of my years sitting on the bench. The case the author describes is special, but it is also typical. This story is played out every day in our family courts. The dynamics of domestic violence are well known and this story exemplifies those dynamics very effectively…In fact, it is a book I could not put down. Will she change her mind and go back to her husband/abuser? Will she be able to testify in court? Will she be able to regain custody of her child? There are so many different aspects to this case and the book explores them thoroughly. I strongly recommend that you read it. You won’t be disappointed.
Judge Leonard Edwards
Former Superior Court Judge, Santa Clara County, California, Judge-in-Residence, Center for Families, Children & the Courts
A minority of domestic violence survivors involved in Family Court child custody litigation are fortunate enough to have the kind of legal representation and informed victim advocacy like that provided by attorney and his colleagues in Alan Nobler’s “The Girl in the Halo.”
While the Courts are better informed and laws are more responsive to domestic violence issues than in the mid-1980s when the book is set, the traumatic impact of domestic violence on its victims, including children exposed to such abuse, continues to be minimized and discounted. Family Law judges, attorneys, and involved mental health professionals across the country typically receive little training on the dynamics of domestic violence and trauma-informed responses to litigants. Without such training the legal system itself can be inadvertently coopted into enabling the offender’s continued abuse of power and control over the victim-survivor. Kudos to the author for shining a light on a problem which, over the course of a lifetime, along with rape and/or stalking, effects more than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the United States.
Steve Baron, MA, LMFT (ret.)
Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Death Review Team, Former Director of Santa Clara County Family Court Services
People, especially women, going through a dysfunctional marriage often feel helpless and our legal system too often fails them. While a work of fiction, this page-turner reads like a true story, as it engulfs the reader into the psychology and reasons why people get trapped in violent relationships.
Written for the general public to learn the dynamics between attorneys, their clients, and the courts, I would also recommend it for legal professionals to understand what dilemmas many people face coping with failed relationships in real life. Attorneys who do not practice family law will learn that Carol’s story is not an isolated one, and this book should be mandatory reading for all new attorneys that are going into family law.
It’s a stunning portrayal of our chaotic legal labyrinth, and should awaken the powers to be to consider what more can be done to help these victims.
Hal D. Bartholomew, CFLS, AAML
Bartholomew & Wasznicky LLP, Sacramento; Former President & Co-Founder of Collaborative Practice California