The Jury Is Back
The Jury Is Back is the second novel by B.M. Reade, which is the pen name for famed Tampa trial lawyer Bennie Lazzara, Jr. Bennie’s late son, Croix Ben Lazzara, is credited with providing Bennie an unfinished manuscript that he turned into this courtroom thriller that is worthy of taking its place in the genre of great Florida authors, such as John D. MacDonald and Randy Wayne White.
Bennie began his legendary career as a prosecutor who made a reputation trying high profile murder cases in Tampa. His renown grew exponentially as a defense lawyer in the wild days of the marijuana money culture that permeated Florida in the 1970s. When Bennie gave a closing argument, lawyers who were regulars at the Hillsborough County Courthouse packed the gallery in anticipation of a spellbinding argument and in hopes that they might absorb a bit of Bennie’s gentle but highly persuasive style.
This story is set in Tampa, but it has tentacles that stretch through the entire Gulf Coast. The fast-paced legal thriller tells the inside story of a weed smuggling venture that went very wrong and ended in murder, and the capital murder trial that followed.
The protagonist is fishing guide Sammy Carrara, Jr. The story is told as a retrospective while Sammy waits for the jury to return after a hard-fought trial. It recounts how Sammy was raised in Ybor City and had moved to the sleepy fishing village of Cortez to try and escape a troubled past. Unfortunately for Sammy, trouble followed and he is facing the electric chair. Fortunately for Sammy, a web of family and longtime friends from Tampa and Ybor City come to his aid. Private investigators Benjamin Blanc and his partner Chino, along with celebrated trial lawyer Marc Hammer, prepare and present his case.
The tale follows Sammy’s Ybor City connections, often unknown to observers, and winds its way from the funky vibe of New Orleans, to the normally laid-back Panama City Beach, to the quirky haze of the Florida Keys, and beyond. Throughout this journey, the lifelong connections made while growing up in the shotgun casitas and smoke-filled rooms of Ybor City proved to be unshakeable.
The story, set in the 1970s, portrays a time of “reefer madness” when the lure and treasure of weed smuggling proved to be irresistible to many. The book portrays how it took the courage and skill of a dedicated legal team to fight for Sammy’s freedom. It provides one of the best descriptions of a trial that I have ever read. The drama also reveals how even certain elements of law enforcement in the 1970s also succumbed to the temptation of marijuana money.
The Jury Is Back is a must-read for any trial lawyer or anyone who is captivated by the drama of a high profile murder trial. The novel shares the secrets of an outstanding trial lawyer navigating his way around the face-off between weed smugglers and law enforcement that was played out in Tampa and the Gulf Coast during the 1970s. The book brings life to the characters, places, and events of the Tampa area that Bennie was kind enough to share with me when I was a young lawyer. The book can be purchased online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.
