TITLE
This report is based upon the book In Contempt, written by Christopher A. Darden with
Jess Walter. This book is published by Regan Books an imprint of Harper Collins
Publishers
and is copyrighted 1996 by Christopher A. Darden.
Introduction of the Author
The book In Contempt was written by Christopher A. Darden. Chris Darden is famous for
being one of the prosecuting attorneys in the court case, The People vs. Simpson. He has
worked hard his whole life to reach the status he has now achieved. He proved to America
that even though he wasn't a high-priced private lawyer that he could present a
well-thought out and planned case under tremendous pressure he and the other prosecutors
had to endure during the Simpson case.
Summary
I found this book to be very well thought out and well written. Most people would
assume that this book was written with the intentions of making a quick-buck off the
misfortune of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. I, however, do not believe this
to be true. The way that he speaks of the victims in the book, and the way he spoke of
them before and after the trial shows that he really cared about the lives of these
people that he didn't even know. He even went as far as to say in the book that this was
the first case that affected him personally and emotionally. As one may expect the
majority of this book is taken up with the Simpson case but, chapters two through six
detail his life from birth, his childhood in a working class district of Richmond,
California, and becoming a district attorney of Los Angeles in 1981. Chapters two and
three mostly consist of stories of him and his brother, Michael, stealing from local
stores or his brothers drug deals. When Michael hit his mid-teens he started selling
marijuana off the front porch of the house and Chris was his lookout. In return, he was
told that he would be cut in on the action (but never was). No matter what, Michael
always told Chris never to use drugs. Throughout the book Chris Darden refers to his
brother as a good role model for him no matter what he did.
I feel the purpose of Chris Darden writing this book is to try to show the hardships he
had to go through as a black man trying to become a lawyer. Also I feel that he is
trying to reveal the truth behind what was happening in the Simpson case.
Body of the Review
This book is funny and at other times the mood is more serious. The few chapters in the
beginning were the funny ones. In these chapters he writes about his childhood and
works his way forward to when he starts to work in the District Attorney's Office.
Specifically he tells about how he was caught stealing a Hostess Fruit pie at the corner
store, sneaking crackers from his house pantry, and being teased about having false teeth
as a child. As he writes and talks about when he gets older the mood changes and gets
more serious. He writes a lot about his brother who was a big influence on him when he
was young. Darden retells stories of how he and his brother, Michael, would salvage old,
broken radios from the trash and repair them and then sit on Saturday nights listening to
the local R and B station. His brother would always comment on how the Temptations were
the best band ever. Also, he tells of the time when his brother was smoking a joint in
their bedroom when their father came bursting into the room. Thinking quickly, Chris'
brother swallowed the still lit joint. His father smelled the marijuana but never found
any evidence of the joint. As he tells about his childhood, he remembers how his
grandmother would ask him what he wanted to be when he grew up and as far back as he
could remember he would say that he wanted to be a lawyer. Christopher Darden grew up
like a lot of black families of that time period, poor. They did have enough money to
buy a $30,000 house and they always had a pantry full of food. Not many people from his
neighborhood ever made much of themselves but he always believed in himself and his
grandmother always believed that he could do anything that he put his mind to. She was
the only person that believed he could be a lawyer and always introduced him as a future
lawyer. In high school Chris followed in his brother's footsteps and joined the track
team. This would be his ticket to a scholarship at Berkeley University, and the start to
his law career. After completing college, he applied for a job in the District
Attorney's Office, and surprisingly got the job at the Los Angeles District Attorney's
Office in 1981. Through the years, he worked his way up through the ranks of the D. A.
s' Office ans became a very prominent lawyer. He worked for 14 years before the Simpson
case was brought before him. He never expected to work the case but sometimes strange
things happen. He worked hard to prove that Simpson was guilty but justice was never
found.
Out of the 20 murder cases that Darden had worked, the Simpson case was the only one he
lost. After he lost, he vowed never to work in law again.
Conclusion
I didn't find this book particularly useful, but it was a very good book to read and it
gave me more insight as to what has happened in Chris Darden's life and what he went
through during the Simpson case. When I got the book I approached it like most students
do when they have a book report to write. I didn't want to read the book but had to in
order to get a good grade. As I started to read the first chapter, which was about the
Simpson case I realized that the book wasn't just the boring drivel you would expect from
a lawyer. It was intelligently written and had amusing stories from his childhood and
fraternity days. Although I didn't want to read it' it wasn't as bad as I had expected,
and I found it to be enjoyable and informative.
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