Just The Facts, Ma'am...And They'd Better Be Right.

Not too long ago, I was reading posts on the Sisters in Crime loop, and I noticed a signature on one of the comments that intrigued me. So, I contacted the commenter and asked her to come on Mysteries and Margaritas and tell us what she actually does. Graciously, she agreed and has even offered to answer your questions if she can, so don't be shy.

Her website says "Through LawandFiction, lawyer Leslie Ann Budewitz helps writers of novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, and television scripts better incorporate the law into fiction." I'll let Leslie tell you the rest.

Good fiction creates a world the reader trusts–a world built on coherent and cohesive details that feel true. Any reader who knows that world is either drawn into it by the credibility and authority of the storytelling, or thrown out of it by the smallest of mistakes. You’ve all had that experience: the hospital in your home town described as cinder block when you know it’s limestone, an interstate highway you know is really a narrow, two-laner, or the car you know wasn’t made in that color because you drive one and remember what options you had. Details matter.

When I started writing mysteries and participating in discussion lists, other writers asked questions. How could a fictional police officer get a search warrant? Could a character who’d been placed for adoption as a newborn inherit from her biological grandfather? Can a fictional junior high principal search a student’s locker–and find the bomb before it goes off? I began writing regular columns in newsletters–and now write regularly for the Sisters in Crime national quarterly and SinC Guppies chapter newsletter. I also provide legal research and manuscript review. I’ve worked directly with authors of mysteries and thrillers, romantic suspense, mainstream fiction, and screenplays, answering their questions about the law in their story state. I’ve reviewed chapters and courtroom scenes for accuracy, provided background information, and helped writers brainstorm about ways to portray legal predicaments credibly and accurately. http://www.LawandFiction.com

My book for writers, Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately about Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure, will be published by Quill Driver Books in September 2011.

The most common mistakes are in terminology. Many writers have no first-hand knowledge of the criminal law system–fortunately for them, but not so lucky for their manuscripts. On Law & Order, the prosecutor is the DA–short for District Attorney, the terminology used in New York City. But don’t call your prosecutor the DA in Seattle or Helena–in Washington State, the correct term is county prosecutor, and in Montana, county attorney. In the federal system, each state has one or more judicial districts, each with a U.S. Attorney who handles all civil and criminal litigation involving the U.S. government in that district. No matter what the prosecutor is called, his or her staff may include dozens of lawyers called deputies–or in very small counties, just one or two.

What about courts? I’ve written detailed columns on state and federal courts, archived my website. Short version:
Federal courts:
• District Court, aka the trial court. Authorized by the Constitution, Art. III, Sect. 2.

• Court of Appeals, divided into twelve regional courts. Sometimes called the Circuit Court or by number, e.g., the Ninth Circuit, which covers the far west.

• Supreme Court. Hears cases appealed from the Courts of Appeal. About 7,000 requests, by petitions called writs of certiorari, are filed each year; about 100 are accepted.

State court systems vary widely. The basic structure looks like this:
• Courts of Limited Jurisdiction: Common versions include county court, district court, justice court, city or municipal court, traffic court, small claims court. These courts handle only the types of cases specified by statute. Examples: criminal misdemeanors, initial appearances in felonies, traffic claims, or civil cases with a low dollar value. Some states do not require judges in these courts to be lawyers.

Margaret Maron’s Judge Deborah Knott serves at this level in North Carolina.

• Courts of General Jurisdiction: Most action occurs here, the general trial courts for both civil and criminal law. Names vary: Superior Court (California, Washington State), District Court (Montana, Wyoming), Circuit Court (Illinois, Oregon), and even Supreme Court (New York). Some states–most notably Texas–separate civil and criminal cases. Some maintain specific courts for probate, youth, or family matters.

• Intermediate Courts of Appeal: A stop between the general trial court and the highest court. New York calls this the Appellate Division. Texas and a few others separate civil and criminal appeals. Some smaller states have no intermediate appellate court.

• Highest Court of Appeal: A state’s court of last resort, called the Supreme Court in most states, the Court of Appeals in New York and Maryland. Jurisdiction is largely discretionary, but mandatory in some cases, e.g., in capital cases and in states without an intermediate court of appeal.

Expect readers familiar with your setting to know what local courts are called. Find the right names by checking your story state’s court system website. The National Center for State Courts maintains a directory of state court websites, including a state-by-state structure chart: http://www.ncsc.org/Information-and-Resources/Browse-by-State/StateCourtWebsites.aspx

Getting the details right is key to persuading your readers that you know the world you write about. Once you’ve done that, they’ll travel with you nearly anywhere.

I’ll be around today to respond to your comments and answer questions.


Leslie Budewitz is a graduate of Notre Dame Law School and a practicing lawyer with more than twenty-five years’ experience in Montana and Washington State. Her short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, ThugLit, The Whitefish Review, and more. Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately about Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure, will be published by Linden Publishing/Quill Driver Books in September 2011. For more on her services for writers, and a trove of columns and Questions of the Month, visit www.LawandFiction.com.