The Girl in the Halo (ePub)

In mere seconds of powerful force during a drunken sexual assault, Carol Collins' husband breaks her neck. Fleeing from the abusive relationship, required to wear a medical halo, she seeks counsel from her attorney, mental health counselors, and family court judges to cope with the fallout on her son, herself, and her future, seeking just compensation from the influential Collins family.

With an easy-to-read pacing and style, California attorney Alan L. Nobler brings decades of experience dealing with Silicon Valley's family court system into this starkly compelling novel, underlining not only how far we have come in dealing with issues of domestic violence, but how much progress still remains.

Framed as a discussion between retired attorney Steve Gregory helping his 17-year-old grandson Harris choose a career, Steve's vivid descriptions of his most memorable case-The Collins Case-shed light on how victims' choices are limited; how real estate wealth creation can and has influenced politics and prosecutorial conduct; how logistics of time and space can shape outcomes as much as right and wrong; and how even when the system appears rigged against helpless victims, creative strategies and collaborative approaches can bring about justice, despite those obstacles.

For those who have never faced the kinds of immediate decisions foisted upon law-abiding citizens dealing with criminal conduct of others, or coped with the unimaginable delays of scheduling calendars, limited expertise and funds, this fictional account of the reality of what is involved in shepherding a case through the court system is eye-opening.