In these times of reckoning—at last—with America’s original sin of slavery and racist policies, with police misconduct, and with mass-incarceration, many in our country ask, “What can we do?”

In this powerful and insightful book, Andrea D. Lyon explicates what is wrong with the criminal justice system through clients’ stories and historical perspective, and makes the compelling case for the need for reform at the center of the system; not just its edges. Lyon, suggests that we should create an office of the Defender General of the United States and give it the same level of importance as the Attorney General and the Solicitor General. Such an office would not be held by someone who represents law enforcement, or corporate America, but rather by someone who represents and advocates for accused individuals, collectively before the powers that be. A Defender General would raise his or her voice against injustices like those involving the unnecessary killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, or the Texas Supreme Court’s refusal to let an innocent man, cleared by DNA, out of prison. The United States needs a Defender General.

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Lyons, a criminal defense attorney and a death penalty expert, offers an interesting premise to fix the legal system in the US—a system in which “the need for criminal justice reform is salient and apparent.”…. Using cases that often had tragic outcomes, Lyons demonstrates how a defender general could step in and make sure that those in the criminal justice system are treated fairly. The office would be responsible for funding, advocacy, and policy; an outline is provided to implement these three areas. Lyons believes a defender general would be able to create standards for defending attorneys and consequences for less-than-honorable actions toward clients. With this idea, Lyons has started the conversation to repair a broken system of justice. This conversation needs to continue. Recommended. Undergraduates through faculty and practitioners.

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In Fixing Legal Injustice in America, Andrea Lyon, a veteran criminal defense attorney, urges that we need to create an Office of the Defender General of the United States – a counterbalance to the Office of the Attorney General. The book is compelling and enlightening. Part legal history lesson, part war stories, and part a call to action, Lyon drives home the need for a federal position to advocate for criminal defendants and their attorneys.