Yes! I ordered the right book. FORENSICS: HOWDUNIT? A guide for writers, by D.P. Lyle, MD

Call me a geek (which I am so not-I actually hate the science boring part of the law…) but I jumped right into the book and read from cover to cover beginning at Chapter 1, not skipping around, and I am loving this book.

O.K., now I need to go back to the main point of part 1 of DO I NEED TO BE A LAWYER TO WRITE A KICKASS LEGAL/THRILLER? No, but you have to do your homework, prepare, and become far more than just familiar with the Judicial system and how the court and District Attorneys offices operate.

Here is my Basic list of requirements for a non lawyer to write a believable legal/thriller

You have to gain a full understanding of the law , in the state and in the area of the place where you book, or your crimes and criminal procedure occur
This means learning more than just the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor.
Recognize that the state law are different in every state and Federal law is much different than state law
Know the penalties for the crimes that your write about in your book
This is important & sometimes difficult to accept: You have to have a working and understanding knowledge of the "hot spot" or touchy issues in your book's town, city, and state. What the current trend is for treating someone accused of this crime-it does vary from place to place and time to time

For example, I live in Louisiana, and to other people we are often considered "another breed"

. Our teens are permitted, encouraged to share wine at the dinner table with us. We would never admit condoning drinking for under aged persons, but we know our kids will get blasted at Mardi Gras

; they will go into bars while underage, on Bourbon Street. We did and generations to come will as well. In S. Louisiana, drinking is not typically treated with the same penalty (even DUI) as you will find in most normal areas of the country. L.S.U fans are given great latitude on game night and they can be horrible. In La. It is pretty much a free for all right now. Pigs have flown, hell is frozen, DA saints won dat Bowl and we have drive through Daiquiri liquor stores. We either have a bookie to place our college and pro ball wagers with, or have friends who do, or we are lying.

SO what I am stressing is that you know your public policy, not just the letter of the law in your novel's city. Is it Sin city? Is it Vegas? If it is Vegas and you have your protagonist get arrested at his bachelor party because prostitutes are in attendance…ain't gonna be believable.
On the flip side, go to any mid western Farm community and forget to throw the maximum penalty at a drunk driver; you would have MADD all over you Sad butt.
Remember to treat college towns different; students are usually given more latitude. But know the difference in how a policeman on the Ole Miss Campus will react as opposed to a police man on campus of Texas Christian University
Even harder to swallow: Each D.A. can and does chose which charges to bring, how to proceed and the penalty if convicted and this is a choice made by the DA at the sole discretion of the DA. It is a completely subjective decision and varies vastly, not just form one DA's office to another, but even from one assistant D.A. in the same office to another.
We all have our subjective pet peeves. Mine was child abuse or domestic violence. Hit a woman, and buddy your butt's going to jail. My junior assistant DA, in the very same courtroom , is a male and he thinks that unless the woman is black and blue and requires hospitalization, the situation should be resolved as a family issue and outside of the courtroom
My husband did a stint as a head prosecutor and being the former hippie ( I refuse to elaborate) that he is~he would NEVER convict a young college kid of possession of marijuana even if caught red handed, if

The kid is a student- he just will not ruin a kids education for a mistake
In the military

If he gives you a second chance which he believes in because if not given one himself we would not be a lawyer, and you make a fool out of him; he is going to come down extra hard if he ever sees you in his courtroom again

I can't possibly go over every crime: just know how subjective it is and how vastly different it is from one state to another. Is this fair? Not for me to say, but if your book is to be believable it has to be accurate

YOUR LEGAL/THRILLER CHEAT SHEET

Take the time to schedule appointment(s) plural with the following agencies and let them explain their policies and procedures to you

The local District Attorney
Local Judges
Coroners/Forensic Pathologist
Crime Lab experts
Private investigators
A handful of PRIVATE defense attorneys
The Local Public Defenders Office
Sheriff's office
City Police
State Police
Narcotics Agencies
K9 agencies
Tax Accessor
Clerk of Court
Court Reporters
Funeral homes
Ambulance companies
Independent companies that transport dead bodies to the morgue
DNA experts
Serologist
Questioned Documents experts
Hand writing exemplars
Finger print experts those who take prints & those who actually analyze them
Other municipality, County or Parish government agencies
Ballistics experts
Crime Scene techs
Chain of custody experts
Toxicologist
Bac Breath and or Blood alcohol intoxylizer 5000 administrators
Dental experts
Cause of death experts
Fire arms experts
Gun Powder residue experts
Trauma nurses and doctors
Life care helicopter medical personnel
Blood spatter experts
Crime scene reconstructionist
Latent prints
Expert in AFIC system or NCIC, criminal background checks
Impression experts, tire prints, shoe prints etc. with DNA, its not just blood, speak to the experts who analyze hair, fiber, semen, saliva, and all other bodily fluids

ADDITIONALY, MAKE TIME TO SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS TO DO THE FOLLOWING, UNLESS AN APPOINTMENT IS NOT REQUIRED, THEN MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON YOUR OWN AND TAKE CAREFUL NOTES AND BE A GOOD OBSERVER

Go to the State court houses and Federal Courthouses and sit though a minimum of a few Jury Trials from beginning to end- from jury selection to rendering of verdict
Talk to jurors who have served
Observe many bench (judge) trials
Observe each & every different type of a docketed criminal proceeding (at least once)if you expect to understand the lingo and process enough to write about it.

Arraignment
Pre-trial conference
Motions and hearings day
VOPS- Violation of Probations trials
Preliminary examination
Sentencing
Remanding a defendant into the custody of the department of corrections
Listen to a judge hand down a sentence in a capital murder trial for death by lethal injection. I promise you, it is an event that will stay with you forever in a hauntingly way
Visit jails
Minimum, medium and maximum security prisons
Talk to inmates
Visit your state Penitentiary, Angola in La. Talk to lifers
These list and suggestions are just the beginning of what you will want to do so you can comprehend the process

Now, I have to return to my book that arrived. If you read my earlier blogs then you know that I stumbled upon a web site recently that I cannot stop raving about.

http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/

So picture me ripping though my brand new box of books and reading my new favorite forensic writer's helper book. I was so engrossed and captivated that I did not notice until over half way through, that the brilliant writing was by none other than Dr. Lyle, the one and the same author of the greatest blog for writers I have found to date.

If I were qualified to give a book review this would receive the best and shoot straight to the new York times best reviews and best seller list where it will remain forever.

I can't begin to cover all of what this writer has done for writers of legal fiction. This would turn in to a 20 part series... I can tell you that all the list I have supplied to you are important, but if you have even a general idea of how the system operates, this one book can all but replace the list. You simply have to read HOWDUNIT? FORESNICS FOR WRITERS

Like most prosecutors I always hated having to present the boring science stuff to a jury. Post O.J. Simpson juries and the juries of CSI watching America dig the boring. Science stuff and they want it. So that means we have to be able to present it to them in a manner they can comprehend and still entertain them. how? With this book

Dr. Lyle's book and blog serve three major purposes for me

His is now my one and only go to source for forensics. I no longer need the other ten books, each one explaining something different like DNA or Fingerprints; he wraps it all up in one book and gives real life cases and keeps you entertained. It is Forensic Magic
Howdunit? Is my go to reference, not just for my crime writing, but as a trial lawyer it is my first and I am sure only source needed to prepare my criminal cases for trial
If you are ever in need of a cool and accurate medial/legal thriller plot or subplot, look no further. He even supplies story ideas for you

www.dplyemd.com

www.writersforensicblog.blospot.com

http://www.hodrw.com/cop1.htm

www.writersdigest.com

Please, check back this weekend. I invite you to read part three in this series of forensic evidence , and to answer the question: Do you have to be a lawyer to write a Kick-Ass Legal Thriller?"

Saturday, 2/13/2010- please read our full review of Dr. Lyles Forensic Hot Book "HowDunnit" where his has mastered the art of explaining how it is dun, ~~crime that is. Lyles book is an enjoyable and comprehendible read that also entertains. A scientific book that entertains??? Here in Louisiana we call that voodoo or Magic.

In other words…..Howdunit Forensics guide for writers, written by D.P.Lyle, M.D. a writers Digest book is evidence of just how brilliant and talented this writer is.

HowDunit, by D.P. Lyles- read it. It will become your little black book that you must have in your briefcase prior to beginning another criminal trial. The last & only Forensic reference book a trial lawyer will use~~~~~~~~~~Daryl Gold, Criminal Defense; Capital Assistance Project of Louisiana, Trial Lawyer- 35 years

"Howdunit"- A Guide For Writers FORENSICS Authored by D.P. Lyles, M.D. ***Soon to be on every one of my prosecutors desk~~Richard Andringa, State Attorney