interview

Q&A with H. Clark Adams, author of You Be the Judge

We sit down with H. Clark Adams, a retired deputy judge of 15 years, and a practicer of law for 35. He gives us the scoop on his book You Be the Judge, where the reader gets to judge different small claims court cases. He also lets us in on his upcoming projects.

Tell us about your book.

This book is about 54 actual court cases which I heard in Small Claims Court.  There is an opening statement for each case, setting the tone of what the case is about.  Then there is the evidence of the litigants.  At the end of the evidence there is an opportunity for the readers to discuss the case and come up with a decision.  My decision is in the second half of the book.

How did you come up with the title?

The title of the book is what the book is about.  It is a challenge to the prospective reader of what they are going to do when they read the book.

How did you research your book?

I did not have to do much research as I had notes on all the cases I used in the book.  I only had to change the names of hte parties.

Describe the most memorable response you’ve received from a reader.

The most memorable response I had in regard to the book was repeated many times.  The idea of the book was to get people to read and discuss the cases and come up with their decision.  Many, many people have told me that they would sit down as a family and read the cases and had fun seeing if their decision was the same as mine.

What is your next project?

My next project is a book about a number of situations encountered by landlords dealing with tenants.  The theme of the book is to point out to prospective tenants the pitfalls of being a landlord.

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