Looking Back

Judge Queenan tells a very human story of his life, family and travels, wothholding no family secrets. Included is an account of his diverse and evolving career as a lawyer who handled business transactions, drafted estate plans, tried cases and, at the end, found greatest satisfaction in representing corporations reorganizing under chapter 11. He tells of the losing party in one case sending a bomb in the mail to his client. We also learn of the disastrous results of a Ponzi scheme that used ruses similar to those of Bernard Madoff. Judge Queenan's high values and commitment to due process of law are apparent throughout. He is still troubled by the prejudicial effect of the press conferences held by the district attorney in the Brinks armed robbery case, which came before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts when he was a young law clerk with the court. In giving an account of his years on the bench, a time when he was also teaching in law school, Judge Queenan makes law and trials understandable to the layman. He rejects the notion that bankruptcy is a refuge for the dishonest and lazy, and he decries the country's toxic fascination with debt, taking special aim at abusive leveraged buy-outs of corporations. He recalls memorable witnesses and lawyers, tells how he determined who was lying and explains what he did to reduce the length of trials. Perhaps most informative of all, he describes how a judge makes law rather than just grabbing a rule off the shelf. A former campaign worker for Robert Kennedy, Judge Queenan shows his passion for politics. He gives a critique of the Supreme Court's 2000 decision in Bush v. Gore, which handed the presidency to George W. Bush. As one who demonstrated against the war in Iraq before the war began, he examines the war's terrible consequences and traces its long political fallout that contributed to the election of Barack Obama, for whom the judge delivers a unique panegyric.