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Renegade for Justice

Renegade for Justice

Defending the Defenseless in an Outlaw World

by Stephen Saltonstall

Foreword by Michael Meltsner

Sales Date: October 31, 2022

280 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in

Paperback
9780700633678
Published: October 2022

$24.95

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eBook
9780700633685
Published: October 2022

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“This is a book of courtroom war stories, drawn from my forty years of experience as an obscure lawyer for the underdog and the downtrodden.” So begins Renegade for Justice, a memoir of a public interest lawyer driven by the cause of justice. While the stories Stephen Saltonstall tells are entertaining, they are also instructive, providing, as he says, “an insider look at the American justice system, which is rigged against the poor and people of color and tolerates police perjury.”

Renegade for Justice begins by telling the story of how and why a privileged kid from Cambridge, Massachusetts, broke from family tradition and devoted his professional life to defending the defenseless in a justice system that is crippled by systemic injustice. Activist lawyer Stephen Saltonstall brings readers into the world of criminal defense by recounting narratives of his cases, including a successful attack on a Massachusetts death penalty statute, appeals of two notorious homicide cases (a serial murderer and a cop-killer), an effort to save the life of a little boy whose parents refused to give him the medical treatment he needed for acute lymphocytic leukemia, free speech cases for students and an environmentalist carpenter, litigation to save critical black bear and neotropical migratory songbird habitat from US Forest Service clear-cutting, and more. In a system biased against the public interest and the underprivileged, Saltonstall gives people a model for practicing values-based law.

Channeling the spirit of radicals like William Kunstler, Saltonstall writes not only for activists who want to better understand our society, but also for those thinking about becoming a lawyer. As he writes in the preface, “I hope my stories will challenge those of you—you know who you are, you who dream of soft landings in the glittering halls of boring, soul-free law firms doing the bidding of the uber-rich and powerful—to visualize the alternative, a career that’s built on cases and causes that further the public interest, human rights, and care of the natural world.”

"A fascinating look at what it take in today’s world to be effective in pursuit of the public good."—Manchester Journal
“Stephen Saltonstall’s memoir of forty years of courtroom war stories explains why a ‘sane person would consider becoming a criminal defense lawyer,’ especially when the courts he served were, in his words, ‘a Hollywood backdrop designed to disguise a shameful tradition of inequality and injustice.’”—Ronald Goldfarb, author of The Price of Justice: Money, Morals and Ethical Reform in the Law
“Boston has had a tight-knit cadre of activist lawyers going back to the founding of the republic and before. Stephen Saltonstall stands in that tradition with figures like James Otis, who courageously challenged the legality of the king’s despised writs of assistance, setting the stage for the later adoption of the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. Saltonstall movingly shares with readers his own journey, with all its ups and downs—his fascinating cases, his clients, his fellow lawyers in the struggle for social justice, and the unforgettable characters he encountered along the way. It is an inspirational tale for law students, lawyers, and all those seeking a more just society.”—Mark S. Brodin, Michael and Helen Lee Distinguished Scholar, Boston College Law School
“Stephen Saltonstall was born into a Boston Brahmin family of privilege, wealth, and upper-class status that would have assured him a special, protected lifestyle surrounded by those of similar privilege. But he spent his entire adult life rejecting those inherited advantages and working for the poor, the underprivileged, and the downtrodden.
He is an erudite, brilliant man who discovered early in life that his emotional satisfaction was derived primarily from identifying with those less fortunate. As an attorney, he embraced what he calls ‘value-based lawyering,’ handling righteous cases for ‘the benefit of working people, the indigent, people of color, abused and neglected children, and on behalf of wildlife.’ Saltonstall has written a lovely, inspiring account of how one can, and should, use their education, skills, and talents to leave the world in a better place than they found it.”—R. Keith Stroup, founder of NORML