August 01, 2001
Wisconsin Lawyer August 2001: Book Reviews
Model Law for Assisted Treatment
By the Treatment Advocacy Center (Arlington, VA:
2000). 23 pgs. Order, (703) 294-6001.
Reviewed by Donna M. Jones
State Bar Past President Gary L. Bakke courageously revealed his
personal experience with mental illness in the December 2000 Wisconsin
Lawyer. He described how, with assistance, he recognized his depression,
sought treatment, and is fine today, as a result. This excellent example
is what the Treatment Advocacy Center refers to in the Model Law for
Assisted Treatment "Statement of Purpose":
"People with treated mental illness can now reclaim their lives. But
first there must be treatment. ... Treatment voluntarily embraced is
always preferable."
The primary purpose of the Model Law, however, is to be: "the legal
framework for the provisions of care to individuals who, due to the
symptoms of severe mental illness, become either too dangerous or
incapable of making informed medical decisions concerning their
treatment."
Treatment includes medication and, ideally, psychiatric counseling,
and individual or group therapy. If treatment is involuntary, to ensure
compliance, medication often initially is ad-ministered during brief
hospitalization. In a compelling "Introduction," the Center states that
"assisted treatment" essentially fosters treatment compliance in the
community through a court-ordered treatment plan. The courts commit the
patient to the treatment system and the system to the patient. In the
most recent comprehensive published study to date, long-term assisted
outpatient treatment reduced hospital admissions by 57 percent, in
general, and by 72 percent for people with psychotic disorders. And,
when such treatment was combined with outpatient services, the
probability of violence was reduced by 50 percent.
The Model Law proposes an efficient system of assisted treatment
petitions, hearings, and appeals that relies upon a judicially empowered
Psychiatric Treatment Board, which consists of a physician (preferably a
psychiatrist), a lawyer, and a recipient of treatment or a close
relative of such a person. Voluntary and emergency treatments are
provided for and law enforcement is involved. This Model Law is
"cautiously considered," combining "the most effective provisions of
existing state laws," by placing "each of the best available components
into a statutory model better than any currently in effect." Its
provisions for protecting "the rights and well-being of those placed in
assisted treatment" also are "more extensive and vigilant than those now
in place anywhere in the nation."
Given medical advances, the Model Law is "needed to prevent repeated
hospitalizations" and "consequences of nontreatment," including
homelessness, incarceration, suicide, victimization, violent tendencies,
and needless suffering. Mental illnesses are biologically-based diseases
that attack the brain and now can be treated effectively, like many
other diseases, with daily medication and, when necessary, therapy. It
is certainly in the best interest of society for states to seriously
consider adopting this Model Law.
The book has a crisp, well-written format, with useful clarifying
comments throughout.
Atlas of Crime: Mapping the Criminal
Landscape
Edited by Linda S. Turnbull, Elaine Hallisey Hendrix,
& Borden D. Dent (Phoenix, AZ: The Oryx Press, 2000). 270
pgs. $74.95. Order, (800) 279-6799.
Reviewed by Martin A. Blumenthal
Attention, crime buffs! This reference work will show you where to go
to find (or avoid) any type of criminal activity.
The editors compiled papers contributed by several sociologists and
criminalists that concern the geographical distribution of crimes and
related statistical evidence. The five major categories of criminal
activity include crimes of personal violence, crimes against property,
family violence, organized/entrepreneurial crimes, and sensational
crimes. Those categories are subdivided and include "new" crimes such as
computer crimes, piracy on the high seas, terrorism, and hate
crimes.
Maps show distribution of income, population, environmental factors,
and other parameters in addition to the incidence of a particular
category of crime. The diagrams and maps are in black and white, which
makes it difficult to distinguish among the various symbols used in the
cartography.
Other chapters cover the geographic history of crime, map use by
criminals, crime story authors, and police departments. Each article
contains exhaustive references for the author's data and conclusions.
The book itself has a detailed index.
I recommend that every criminal justice practitioner, urbanologist,
and sociologist have this book.
Dear Sisters, Dear Daughters: Words of Wisdom
from Multicultural Women Attorneys Who've Been There and Done That
Edited by Karen Clanton (Chicago, IL: ABA Multicultural Women
Attorneys Network, 2000). 357 pgs. $24. Order, (800)
285-2221.
Reviewed by Pamela Pepper
This is an illuminating collection of letters from 84 minority women
attorneys. Most have been out of law school for at least 10 years. They
come from varied cultural backgrounds, and some have families. Their
jobs range from elected officials to corporate counsel to solo
practitioners. Despite the variety, common themes emerge.
The book has three parts. "Inspiration" contains letters from women
who explain what inspired them to become lawyers. Many were driven by
naysayers, others by supportive families. Still others cited good career
mentors. The majority, however, sounded one theme - truth to one's own
vision of success. They warned readers not to allow others to define
their ideas of success, and not to let bitterness direct their
courses.
"Path" contains letters discussing the routes the writers took to
reach their particular career stage. Several indicated that they had
stumbled into being lawyers. Others started down one path, only to find
themselves in a different place years later. Many were pleased with
where their sometimes wandering paths had taken them. Some articulated
the isolation they felt because of race.
"Big Picture" focuses on the struggle the writers have faced trying
to achieve balance in their lives. The section is anticlimactic after
the first letter, in which "Anonymous" describes the day she and her
husband, who had put off family for careers, learned they would not be
parents.
The book could benefit from editing the grammar in some letters. The
focus also is fuzzy; some women write only to law students, and one
writer assumes her readers share her ethnic background. Overall,
however, Dear Sisters contains solid, encouraging, and inspiring advice,
not just for multicultural women, but for any lawyer who searches for
joy, fulfillment, and balance in the law.
What Two Can Do: Sam & Mandy Spellman's
Crusade for Social Justice
By
Chris Roerden (Oregon, WI: Badger Books Inc., 2000). 360 pgs.
$14.95. Order, (800) 928-2372.
Reviewed by Tim McAllister
"You have to be outraged" to set out on a crusade for societal
justice, according to Sam and L. Mandy Spellman. With the track record
of social activism documented in this book, the reader is assured that
while the Spellmans may have been outraged, they found social activism
to be fun, not a sacrifice.
Leah Mandolson (L. Mandy) was born in Canada to a family that viewed
helping others as a responsibility, not an option. An American citizen
by birth, Salom (Sam) Spellman, also was born into a Toronto family that
had strong beliefs about community responsibility.
Sam and Mandy Spellman moved to Columbus, Ohio, where Sam became the
director of the Columbus Jewish Community Center. This center became a
model for other community centers with its strong programs, advocating
both equal time for women's physical education and a
no-bench-warmer/every-kid-plays policy.
As a student at Ohio State University studying social work, Mandy was
active in the civil rights movement and learned that attending to the
root cause of a problem and taking action that can affect an infinite
number of people is of a far greater good than providing services to a
limited number of people.
The Spellmans moved to Wisconsin, where Sam became the head of the
U.W. - Extension Center for Social Services, and Mandy studied law at
Marquette University, graduating in 1970.
Mandy's social activism was an integral part of her legal practice.
Deliberately taking cases that would assist those most in need and
suffering from social injustice, those cases were meant to send a
message that toleration of injustice should end. She worked hard to
enforce the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974. She also recognized
that if divorce was going to happen, the best needed to be made of the
circumstances, particularly for those who had traditionally suffered in
divorce: women and children. Mandy lobbied for the Marital Property Act
of 1986, which created a 50-50 split of property/assets acquired during
a marriage.
Sam, in his position with the U.W. Center System, worked with the
Division of Corrections in attempting to establish strong,
results-proven programs to treat first-time criminal offenders. Both Sam
and Mandy were active in attempts at creative criminal justice.
Some of the Spellmans' most effective social activism was through
letter writing. When not treated appropriately, or in the face of
injustice, they wrote letters to the managers of stores, newspapers,
legislators, and national organizations. Creating public awareness of
problems and publicly shaming those perpetrating offensive or illegal
behaviors had a pronounced effect on many occasions.
Neither Roerden's book nor this review can come close to
encapsulating the Spellmans' social work. The book is written in
historical snippets, factoids, and anecdotes pieced together into
chapters, which is fast-paced, but somewhat disjointed.
The Spellmans embody social activism as a lifestyle commitment to
doing the next right thing. Are you willing to go the extra mile for a
disadvantaged client or group? Are you outraged? If so, be creative, not
angry. And do something about it.
To Review a Book...
The following books are available for review.
Please request the book and writing guidelines from Karlé Lester at
the State Bar of Wisconsin, P.O. Box 7158, Madison, WI 53707-7158, (608)
250-6127, klester@wisbar.org.
Reviewers may keep the book they review. Reviews are published in the
order in which they are received. To purchase any book reviewed in this
column, contact the publisher, or ask your local bookstore to order it
for you.
- Brush With the Law: The Turbulent True Story of Law
School Today at Stanford and Harvard, by Robert Byrnes
& Jaime Marquart (Los Angeles, CA: Renaissance Media Inc., 2001).
304 pgs.
- Compensation Plans for Law Firms (3d ed.),
edited by James D. Cotterman (Chicago, IL: ABA Law Practice Management
Section, 2001). 140 pgs.
- Criminal Procedure in Practice, by Paul
Marcus (Notre Dame, IN: National Institute for Trial Advocacy, 2001).
320 pgs.
- The Essential Guide to the Best (And Worst) Legal Sites
on the Web, by Robert J. Ambrogi (New York, NY: American
Lawyer Media, 2001). 370 pgs.
- Medical Evidence: Acquisition and Use, by
Robert C. Strodel (Tucson, AZ: Lawyers & Judges Publishing Co.,
2001). 352 pgs.
- The Microsoft Antitrust Appeal: Judge Jackson's
"Findings Revisited," by Alan Reynolds (Indianapolis, IN:
Hudson Institute, 2001). 131 pgs.
- Nothing But the Truth: Why Trial Lawyers Don't, Can't,
and Shouldn't Have to Tell the Whole Truth, by Steven
Lubet (New York, NY: New York Univ. Press, 2001). 198 pgs.
- Objection Overruled: Overcoming Obstacles in the Lawyer
Job Search, by Kathy Morris (Chicago, IL: ABA Career
Resource Center, 2000). 71 pgs.
- Practice What You Preach: What Managers Must Do to
Create a High Achievement Culture, by David H. Maister
(New York, NY: The Free Press, 2001). 200 pgs.
- The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in
the United States, by Alexander Keyssar (Boulder, CO:
Basic Books, 2000). 496 pgs.
Wisconsin Lawyer