Media ReviewS

The Law and

Liability of

Small

Aircraft By Cecil C. Kuhne III ABA Book Publishing, 2018 Reviewed by Anietie Akpan W arning! If you have a fear of flying, this is not the book (review) for you. Everyone else—read on!

Written by Cecil C. Kuhne III of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Dallas office, The Law and Liability of Small Aircraft (Small Aircraft), provides in-depth discussion of the jurisprudence of aviation, namely dealing with difficult issues of liability from flying small aircraft. It is a densely written resource containing no less than 15 federal court cases describing the wide array of legal issues that frequently arise in aviation litigation, including but not limited to, products and tort liability, property damage, compliance matters under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and federal evidentiary and procedural matters regarding the same.

The legal discussions of Small Aircraft are divided into two broad categories: “Product Liability” and “Regulatory Scheme.” While the former addresses legal issues and court decisions regarding aircraft design, engine manufacturing, pilot error and flight training, the latter discusses FAA compliance, such as safety regulations and fiduciary duties of FAA officials. This book also contains a set of appendices of federal circuit and U.S. Supreme Court opinions highlighting lower court decisions discussing negligence, strict tort liability and federal evidentiary conflicts regarding investigatory reports.

Each chapter is between five and seven pages, in which the author succinctly provides the fact history of a unique aviation legal issue, describes its litigation history and subsequently provides the final holding of the court. The chapters are further divided into important subsections, showcasing the book’s easy readability. For example, Chapter 5’s examination of the 5th Circuit’s Moorhead v. Mitsubishi Aircraft International, Inc. case (addressing a pilot’s negligence by waiting too long to fly out of dangerous weather) is partitioned into smaller paragraph discussions entitled: “Standard of Due Care,” “Airspeed Indicator,” “Pilot Negligence,” “Evidentiary Rulings,” and so forth, giving the reader an easy roadmap to follow the respective court’s analysis of the factual and legal issues at hand.

While reading Small Aircraft, you will come across chapters with titles such as, “Crashworthy Aircraft: Is the Design Adequate?,” “Fuel System: Why Did the Engine Stall?,” and “Runway Collision: Who Is at Fault?” which admittedly, may not come across as particularly—ahem— comforting. However, the plethora of case analysis this book provides, as well as its highly organized structure, make it an incredible resource for the personal injury, products liability or tort attorney who may be seeking an introduction to a unique jurisprudence likely to manifest in their respective areas of practice.

Anietie Akpan serves as in-house counsel for METRO and is an Associate Editor for The Houston Lawyer. After reading and reviewing this book, it is highly unlikely you

42 January/February 2020 thehoustonlawyer.com will find her on an airplane anytime in the near future.

Doing Justice:

A Prosecutor’s

Thoughts

on Crime,

Punishment and

the Rule of Law By Preet Bharara Penguin Random House, 2019 Reviewed by Tim McInturf F ormer United States Attorney (US Attorney) for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Preet Bharara, became wellknown in the financial and legal community for high profile Wall Street investigations and prosecutions (e.g., SAC Capital) in the same way former mayor Rudy Giuliani became famous for prosecuting so-called junk-bond trader Michael Milken. Prosecutions of really rich Wall Street people or firms tend to receive lots of attention. Bharara also became well known for prosecuting New York State public officials. Prosecution of public officials tends to receive lots of attention. In short, whether intentionally or not, Bharara became a public figure during his seven and one-half years as US Attorney for the SDNY.

Bharara, who was appointed by President Obama, writes in the very first paragraph of his book about the fact that he was fired by President Trump. He omits that after Attorney General Jeff Sessions was confirmed by the United States Senate, Sessions requested the resignations of all US Attorneys

appointed by President Obama. There is nothing unusual about this. Appointment to US Attorney is not a lifetime appointment. When the presidency turns over, it is customary for the incumbents to offer their resignations. Then the new president can choose to either accept or reject them— without having to fire anyone. Forty-six of the 47 Obama-appointed US Attorneys submitted their resignations according to custom. Bharara refused and forced the president’s hand. What did Bharara expect? How many times has this president said the words, “You’re fired.” He made a career of it. Some reviews have claimed that Doing Justice—written as the author says “following an involuntary job change”—is not political. Perhaps. Today it is customary for those seeking higher office to write books, for instance: “Hard Choices” by Hillary Clinton, published June 10, 2014, “Outsider in the White House” by Bernie Sanders, published September 28, 2015; “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness” by Mitt Romney, published March 12, 2010; “The Audacity of Hope” by Barack Obama, published July 15, 2008; “Hard Call” by John McCain, published August 14, 2007. There are plenty more.

Because the author himself spent the prologue of the book discussing his firing and how ugly US politics has become, a seed is planted about what the author intends. Is the book intended to make the world—not just the justice system—a better place (his stated goal in a nutshell) or is the book intended to persuade the reader that the author would make the world a better place if elected to higher office. This question hovers over the book.

The book is equal measure behind-thescenes look at the US Attorney’s office of the SDNY, personal war stories, and the author’s views on the moral issues (sometimes quagmires) presented by the cases. Of this formula, the first two measures are fascinating to someone who is not familiar with the inner workings of the FBI and any United States Attorney’s office. The author is a good writer and has selected interesting war stories. But the third leaves at least one reader wondering about the author’s purpose for writing the book. Only time will tell.

Tim McInturf serves as the president of Quantlab Financial, LLC (www.quantlab. com) and is a former trial and appellate lawyer. He regularly volunteers on the KHCB 105.7 Bible Questions & Answers show and enjoys helping people talk through their problems both on and off the air. He is a past Editor-in-Chief of The Houston Lawyer.

Confessions of

an Innocent Man By David R. Dow Dutton, 2019 Reviewed by Ta ra Shockley I magine a terrifying nightmare in which you are wrongly accused of a crime, found guilty and imprisoned on death row. And imagine that crime is the brutal murder of the person you most loved. For Rafael Zettah, a chef and Houston restaurant owner, that nightmare is real in Confessions of an Innocent Man, the first novel by David Dow, founder and director of the Texas Innocence Network and Cullen Professor at the University of Houston Law Center. From the chilling opening page, the reader knows this is a story about justice exacted by the unjustly accused.

Rafael’s life begins in Texas when his father, a crop duster for a Mexican drug cartel, flies his mother over the border to deliver their baby so he will be an American citizen. After his father is brutally murdered and his mother dies, Zettah returns to the U.S. and attends culinary school. At 38, he is a rising star on the Houston food scene who has just opened a successful restaurant, a licensed pilot, and a bachelor enjoying his craft and his unencumbered life. One night in his restaurant he meets Tieresse, an older, beautiful and incredibly wealthy businesswoman and philanthropist who becomes his soul mate. They enjoy every moment of their life together, albeit one with an unusual arrangement. Then Tieresse is found bludgeoned to death in her Houston home, while Rafael is spending the night in his restaurant apartment. So begins Rafael’s nightmare when he is accused, tried and convicted of her murder. He is sentenced to die and begins nearly seven years on death row.

When a crooked detective passes away, 11 boxes of evidence are recovered in his garage, including a bandana the police found in Tieresse’s backyard while investigating her murder. DNA testing links the crime to someone serving a life sentence for another murder, and Rafael is ultimately released. But he soon realizes that he cannot be the exonerated man who sets up charitable foundations and urges reform of the criminal justice system. “After years of being brutalized by a system that did not care about them at all, that denied their very dignity, they remain decent and good... I am not one of them.” Instead, Rafael begins an elaborate plan to exact his own form of “eye for an eye” justice.

Dow is eminently qualified to write about the fear, tedium, and loss of hope that is part of life on death row. He has represented more than 100 death row inmates during state and federal appeals, and he knows about the conversations and relationships between inmates, their attempts to deal with the certainty they are going to die, the hopes and crushing disappointments of the appellate process. As an author, Dow has given us a suspenseful, wellwritten novel that is difficult to put down. As a lawyer and advocate against capital punishment, he makes us feel the horrors of justice denied.

Tara Shockley is the associate executive director of the Houston Bar Association and serves as managing editor of The Houston Lawyer.