Murder in the Courtroom

Why can't Philadelphia mob boss Carmine Baldasano get a mob lawyer - or any lawyer - to represent him in a case where he is charged with the vicious murder of a prostitute? John Bell becomes his fourth court-appointed attorney. Each of the former attorneys withdrew from the case, giving the judge lame excused for doing so. Judge Stanford Parker summarily drafts Bell to represent Baldasano and places Bell on an unrealistically short trial schedule. Judge Parker's courtroom demeanor makes him look like a co-prosecutor with Radcliff Bogan. the ruthless and determined assistant district attorney. Bell puts off preparing the case for trial because he is invited by a lawyer he knows only casually to take part in a drug case where there are several defendants and he will be only one of many experienced lawyers. He can't resist the promise of easy and substantial money with a minimum of effort. Joining the other defendants' lawyers led by well-known mob lawyer Augie DiGuilio in several trips to the Atlantic City casinos, Bell meets Connie Lascalzo, a red-haired, green-eyed bombshell and former showgirl. At the crap tables she displays a delightful sense of humor, a skilled hand at craps and, later, seductive dance talents. Bell shortly finds himself in bed with her. Serious obstacles impede Bell's preparation for trial. The trial date is advanced without prior notice to Bell; his investigator is the victim of a suspicious, disabling hit-and-run accident which makes him unavailable; and the lives of Bell's young daughters are threatened as the trial is about to begin. Bell is outraged and ashamed when he discovers he has been an unwitting player in an insidious plot to murder Baldasano in the courtroom. Bell finds himself squarely between competing mob families and quickly realizes Baldasano's enemies are using the criminal justice system to disgrace him and assure that he gets the death penalty. It takes all of Bell's self-discipline and ingenuity a