The Just and the Unjust
Encyclopedia
The Just and the Unjust is a novel by James Gould Cozzens
published in 1942. Set in "Childerstown," a fiction
al rural town of 4000 persons, the novel is a courtroom drama of a murder
trial that begins June 14, 1939, and takes three days.
Cozzens lived in Lambertville, New Jersey
, when he wrote The Just and the Unjust, and researched his subject by spending hours at the Doylestown, Pennsylvania
courthouse. His protagonist is an assistant district attorney
representing "the Commonwealth" and prosecuting in the "Court of Quarter Sessions," and the town was located on the route of Abraham Lincoln
's funeral train
, strongly suggesting that his Childerstown is also in Pennsylvania.
in the case of Commonwealth v. Stanley Howell and Robert Basso. The first entry, dated May 31, 1939, indicates that the three defendant
s in a case of capital murder
—Robert Basso, Stanley Howell, and Roy Leming—have all been declared indigent and had attorneys
appointed for them. A second, dated June 12, indicates that the trial of Basso and Howell has been severed from that of Leming, now defended by an attorney of questionable character.
The defendants and their victim are all "foreigners—the people from somewhere else." They have been charged with the cold-blooded murder of a drug dealer
and addict, Frederick Zollicoffer, whom they had kidnapped
for ransom
on April 6, and killed afterwards on or about April 17, possibly at the direction of a fourth criminal who died in a fall trying to escape from police in New York City
. The F.B.I.
had also entered the case and arrested Howell, from whom they had extracted a confession
.
involving a local high school
teacher and a vehicular homicide
case involving the son of an influential politician, and weaves their storylines into the on-going trial, allowing Cozzens to cut away from what are often tedious courtroom procedures.
These legal plot lines are supported by personal complications in Abner Coates' life, as he tries to reason out whether or not he wants to run for district attorney (and beholden to Jesse Gearhart), get married, and how to deal with his infirm father.
James Gould Cozzens
James Gould Cozzens was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist.He is often grouped today with his contemporaries John O'Hara and John P. Marquand, but his work is generally considered more challenging. Despite initial critical acclaim, his popularity came gradually...
published in 1942. Set in "Childerstown," a fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al rural town of 4000 persons, the novel is a courtroom drama of a murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
trial that begins June 14, 1939, and takes three days.
Cozzens lived in Lambertville, New Jersey
Lambertville, New Jersey
Lambertville is a city in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 3,906.Lambertville was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 1, 1849, from portions of West Amwell Township...
, when he wrote The Just and the Unjust, and researched his subject by spending hours at the Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Doylestown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 8,380. The borough is the county seat of Bucks County.- History :...
courthouse. His protagonist is an assistant district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
representing "the Commonwealth" and prosecuting in the "Court of Quarter Sessions," and the town was located on the route of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's funeral train
Funeral train
A funeral train is a train specially chartered in order to carry a coffin or coffins to a resting place. Funeral trains today are often reserved for leaders and national heroes, as part of a state funeral, but in the past were sometimes the chief means of transporting coffins and mourners to...
, strongly suggesting that his Childerstown is also in Pennsylvania.
Plot introduction
The novel has a prologue of several court docket entriesCourt calendar
A docket in the United States is the official summary of proceedings in a court of law. In the United Kingdom in modern times it is an official document relating to delivery of something, with similar meanings to these two elsewhere...
in the case of Commonwealth v. Stanley Howell and Robert Basso. The first entry, dated May 31, 1939, indicates that the three defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
s in a case of capital murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
—Robert Basso, Stanley Howell, and Roy Leming—have all been declared indigent and had attorneys
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
appointed for them. A second, dated June 12, indicates that the trial of Basso and Howell has been severed from that of Leming, now defended by an attorney of questionable character.
The defendants and their victim are all "foreigners—the people from somewhere else." They have been charged with the cold-blooded murder of a drug dealer
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
and addict, Frederick Zollicoffer, whom they had kidnapped
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
for ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
on April 6, and killed afterwards on or about April 17, possibly at the direction of a fourth criminal who died in a fall trying to escape from police in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The F.B.I.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
had also entered the case and arrested Howell, from whom they had extracted a confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
.
Characters
As in all his "professionals" novels, Cozzens uses a vast cast of characters, many of whom appear frequently without playing important roles in the plot advancement. The central figures, listed below, are excellently drawn from the outset, but minor figures are often used without reference to their previous role, leaving the reader the choice of going far back to try to locate their initial appearance or continuing to read without understanding their purpose in the scene.The trial attorneys
- Abner Coates - assistant district attorney. 31 years old, Abner is tall but stooped, a lawyer of 6 years who has tried hundreds of cases but never a murder trial. He is capable but phlegmatic by nature, one of the "Lawyer Coateses" of Childerstown
- Martin Bunting - district attorney, Bunting is head prosecutor, short, neat, prematurely graying in appearance, with a careful, precise and dry demeanor
- Harry Wurts - defense attorney appointed to defend Howell, Abner's close friend when both were law students at Harvard. Fatuous and overbearing, Harry Wurts relishes being a nuisance but too easily takes offense when none is given. He uses ridicule at the expense of counsel and witnesses as a trial tactic when he cannot attack the facts.
- George Henderson Stacey - defense attorney appointed to defend Basso, one of the youngest lawyers in the county, he tries to emulate Harry but shows potential for becoming a mature, stable figure
- Mr. Servedei - defense attorney for Leming, from a big city shyster firm, a little gray man whose only apparent role is as an interested observer
Other figures
- Judge Thomas Vredenburgh - in his sixties, the presiding judge at the murder trial, dignified without being pompous, sage and protective of his authority in the courtroom, said to be without much "feel" for the law
- Bonnie Drummond - Abner's girlfriend and distant relation, an attractive and tall 25-year-old woman of intelligence and self-assurance. She exhibits a subtle resentment through much of her dialogue with Abner.
- Judge Philander Coates - Abner's father, forced to retire from the bench after a recent stroke, house-bound in a wheelchair and angry at his fate, but always a mentor to his son.
- Jesse Gearhart - the RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
county chairman, another gray little man, with a silent power to control election choices and political ambitions. Abner self-righteously resents the demanding or granting of political favors and openly dislikes him.
- Jake Riordan - the acknowledged "best attorney in town", nonetheless has avoided involvement in the murder trial while picking up the case of the son of wealthy, influential man.
Trial witnesses
- John Costigan - a county detective, stolid and non-controversial.
- Mrs. Marguerite Zollicoffer - the victim's wife, initially presenting a sympathetic image to the jury but soon unable to control her emotions
- Walter Cohen - the victim's business partner, corpulent, evasive, and self-serving
- Roy Leming - the third defendant, testifying as state's evidenceState's EvidenceState's Evidence is an independent film created in 2004 and released in 2006, directed by Benjamin Louis and starring Douglas Smith, Alexa Vega, Majandra Delfino, Kris Lemche, Cody McMains, and Drew Tyler Bell.-Plot summary:...
against his partners, 38 years old and afraid of Bunting, but wary and experienced during cross-examination
- P. T. Kinsolving - a Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agent, a cold and calculating expert in the law and criminals, suspected of using brutality to get a confession
- Stanley Howell - a defendant testifying on his own behalf
Sub-plots
Unlike many courtoom dramas, The Just and the Unjust is selective in its actual presentation of courtoom events. Not all witnesses are presented, and testimony and arguments are incomplete. However Cozzens displays an ear for what is mundane to the reader's interest and what is germane to characterization, if not to plot. He develops two legal subplots of a sex scandalSex scandal
A sex scandal is a scandal involving allegations or information about possibly-immoral sexual activities being made public. Sex scandals are often associated with movie stars, politicians, famous athletes or others in the public eye, and become scandals largely because of the prominence of the...
involving a local high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
teacher and a vehicular homicide
Vehicular homicide
Vehicular homicide in most states in the United States, is a crime. In general, it involves death that results from the negligent operation of a vehicle, or more so a result from driving while committing an unlawful act that does not amount to a felony...
case involving the son of an influential politician, and weaves their storylines into the on-going trial, allowing Cozzens to cut away from what are often tedious courtroom procedures.
These legal plot lines are supported by personal complications in Abner Coates' life, as he tries to reason out whether or not he wants to run for district attorney (and beholden to Jesse Gearhart), get married, and how to deal with his infirm father.
Quotes
- "'Don't be cynical,' Judge Coates said. 'A cynic is just a man who found out when he was about ten years old that there wasn't any Santa Claus, and he's still upset.'"
- "'I don't know about you, sir,' Abner said, 'But when somebody tells me I am, or was, an ass, I may grant the truth of the matter alleged, but nobody can stop me wanting to interpose a demurrer to the evidence.'"
- "You just had to take a practical view that a man always lied on his own behalf, and paid his lawyer, who was an expert, a professional liar, to show him new and better ways of lying. Abner remembered a passage his father was fond of quoting from a life of Chief Justice Parsons, or someone like that, about the plaintiff who brought an action against a neighbor for borrowing and breaking a cooking pot. Advice of counsel was that the defendant should plead that he never borrowed the pot; and that he used it carefully and returned it whole; also, that the pot was broken and useless when he borrowed it; also, that he borrowed the pot from someone not the plaintiff; also, that the pot in question was defendant's own pot; also that the plaintiff never owned a pot, cooking or other; also that—and so on, and so on."
- "The jurors were plain or homely speakers themselves, indifferent to grammar and disdainful of elegant pronunciations; but that particular accent of Mrs. Zollicoffer's served as a reminder that she, like all the rest of these people, came from the city. With irritation the jury heard the foreigners, the people from somewhere else, having their presumptious say. Justice for all was a principle they understood and believed in; but by "all" they did not perhaps really mean persons low-down and no good. They meant that any accused person should be given a fair, open hearing, so that a man might explain, if he could, the appearances that seemed to be against him. If his reputation and presence were good; he was presumed to be innocent; if they were bad, he was presumed to be guilty. If the law presumed differently, the law presumed alone."