The Trials of Lawyer Pratt

In the Deep South during the mid nineteen sixties, Billy Joe Pratt, a young lawyer, undertakes the defense of Sigmoid “Siggy” Youmans, a dull-witted bottle washer who’s been charged with murder. The case appears open and shut from the get-go—the arresting officer found Siggy inside the victim’s office, standing over the body, and holding the murder weapon. Still, Siggy swears his innocence. Although Lawyer Pratt says that he, being a lawyer, can usually make himself believe anything, he entertains no doubt whatsoever regarding Siggy’s guilt, especially in view of Siggy’s past history. Nevertheless, he sees Siggy through to the very end. Along the way, Lawyer Pratt, assisted by an uppity, romance-magazine-reading secretary and a shrewd, Bible-quoting, private investigator, reckons with a number of memorable characters about town. Among them: a mean-spirited magistrate who jails people for made-up offenses such as common-law wrongdoing; a clueless lawyer who maintains an office inside a converted milk truck; a used-car dealer who talks to parking meters; a cross-toting, silver-crowned man of the cloth; and Siggy’s “po’ ol’ mama,” who says of her son, “Iffen his lips are a’movin’, he’s a’lyin’.” But is Siggy lying this time?