Review of Judicial Soup by Shannon Bohrer Rating ****
The book Judicial Soup tells the story of a court case in which the author was an expert witness. The case involved Heath Patrick Thomas, a former ICE agent, and his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon.
From the beginning, the reader knows two things: Heath was convicted, and the author believes the verdict was unjust. The rest of the book is an analytical review of the entire case. While the book has merit, especially for the legal community and people involved in the criminal justice system, it lacks one major component – graveness. Yes, Heath was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, but no shots were fired, no one was injured, and there was no lengthy prison sentence that resulted from the conviction.
Heath Patrick Thomas might argue that this case had profound graveness on his personal life. He lost his career just months away from a full pension, and his life since the verdict has been a constant struggle for gainful employment.
The incident that set things in motion began at a bar. Heath and his companions had what they believed was poor service. Heath complained to the manager as he went to the bar to close out his tab. There are conflicting statements over Heath’s level of intoxication, his level of anger, and his use of profanity, but the end result was that a bouncer in the bar came up behind Heath and, after asking him to leave, put him in a bear hug and carried him outside. Once outside, Heath’s concealed weapon came loose, and while attempting to reholster his gun, the bouncer intervened and grabbed the barrel of the gun. A struggle ensued, and the police were called. Heath was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
The case was eventually heard by a judge in a bench trial. The prosecution argued that Heath was embarrassed at being physically removed from the bar and pulled his weapon in retaliation. The defense argued that the weapon had come out of his holster inadvertently, and the subsequent struggle over the gun was caused by Heath not wanting to lose control of his weapon.
The author does a commendable job of arguing that Heath’s version was likely the truth. As the case proceeds and the judge announces his verdict, you feel for Heath that his career was ruined by one judge’s interpretation of a minor incident.
Every chapter in the book is preceded by a synopsis of more serious wrongful convictions. I was aware of some of them, but not all of them. The facts are that wrongful convictions are much more common than most people believe. This case shows that a wrongful conviction, even in a minor case, can have just as severe a consequence for the person wrongfully convicted.