Benjamin Davis Book Series
First Do No Harm
This first novel in the book series introduces A. Turk’s fictitious alter ego attorney Benjamin Abraham Davis, whose initials “BAD” reflect his brass persona in the courtroom. Davis, a New Yorker, travels south to attend Vanderbilt law school and is immediately taken under the wing of Morty Steine, a nationally known trial lawyer. The older lawyer mentors Davis and the unique relationship between these two men evolves, one of love and respect.
Davis’s niece, Sammie Davis, a recent paralegal graduate joins Steine & Davis. Under her uncle’s watchful eye, Sammie undergoes a metamorphosis into a responsible member of the Davis team.
Second Degree
Second Degree, the next installment of the series, is a story about sex, drugs, addiction and country music. Inspired by true events, the tale is sexually graphic, along the lines of “Fifty Shades of Gray”.
Nashville attorney Ben Davis, together with his faithful team are thrown into several difficult and sexually explicit cases, which they address head-on. Amy Pierce, one of Davis’s adversaries in First Do No Harm reappears, and the fates of other previously characters are revealed.
Third Coast
Third Coast is a prequel to the first two books of the series and is inspired by true events, with a fictitious twist telling Morty Steine’s backstory.
The story begins on Morty’s sixteenth birthday and his receipt of a WWI airplane and flying lessons as a gift from his grandfather. The flashbacks recount how in 1939 Morty and his friend and future client Albert join the Royal Canadian Air-force to fight the Nazis; Morty’s later experiences as a civil rights leader, and his involvement in the music industry as both a lawyer, musician, and member of “Third Coast”.
4th of July
In Fourth of July, instead of limiting the ongoing saga of Davis to a single legal case, the story focuses on the now familiar Davis’ “to-do-list”, from which the reader is plunged into the real-life daily grind of practicing law.
The central case in this saga begins with a missing mother of two, Rachel January, who is or was married to an attorney, Dan January. On the evening of July 4th Rachel suddenly and mysteriously disappears. Did her lawyer/husband murder her, or did she fall victim to other foul play, or was she kidnapped, or did she simply run away from home? This mystery rocks the city of Nashville, and the firm of Steine, Davis & Davis is smack in the middle of the controversy.
Taking the Fifth
A person accused of a crime has the right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Simply put, this means that if one is taken into custody, you have the right to keep your mouth shut and say nothing. During the trial, the government has the burden to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and you cannot be compelled to testify and may remain silent.
A crime is a wrong against the government, for which the government can pursue criminal charges. A tort is a civil wrong against a person. Many wrongful acts are both crimes and torts. In a criminal case, the jury is instructed by the judge that it cannot hold the defendant’s failure to testify against him. In a civil case, however, the judge will instruct the jury that the refusal to testify should prejudice the defendant. This conundrum presents a real problem for a defendant who is defending a civil lawsuit but also has exposure to criminal prosecution.