atticus finch represents the last republican lawyer. and i mean republican in the sense of the republic, of thomas jefferson, those kinds of people. the last lawyer who really believes that to enunciate the important principles of america is going to work. this is in a town where their first reaction -- i mean, tom ewell is an incredibly evil, disgusting person. everybody in town knows that. but they believe him. you know, they're willing to take his word even though they know he's lying completely, they're willing to take his word. they're willing to go out and try to lynch tom robinson, right? they have taken one of their upstanding citizens, bo radley, and locked him in the attic. he's been there for god knows how many years. has anybody in town done anything about it? no. lock your kids in the attic. that's the kind of town you're dealing with. as we're seeing this through the idse of scout, a child, we have -- through the eyes of scout, a child, we have to dig into it ourselves to see what's going on and once you do you realize tha

. >> atticus finch. >> this ring that belonged to your mother. you want to tell us what really happened? >> i got nothing to say. do nothing about it. you coward! >> gentlemen, i shall be brief but i would like to use the remaining time i have with you to remind you that this case is not a difficult one. it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond a reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant. to begin with, this case should never have come to trial. this case is as simple as black and white. the state has produced not one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime tom robinson is charged with ever took place. it has relied instead on the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence is not only been called into serious question on cross-examination but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. the defendant is not guilty. but somebody in this courtroom is. i have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not extend so far as to her puttin

and i kept thinking, what would atticus do now? what would atticus do now?if he or seder secretly writing my first novel, i was drawn back to "to kill a mockingbird" for the incredible storytelling ability of harper lee for the timeless themes of injustice in the loss of innocence for the humor. posterboard lee harvey the character of atticus finch. adheres after my first book was published, i received a package when they unmarked. i open it up and it was her pearly and it was a copy of "to kill a mockingbird." it was not the first edition. ibook is still in print, so there still editions ongoing. but it was early attention and she inscribed to john grisham, best wishes, harper lee. it is a prized possession. i have a place on the wall and today i had it asked if this award here. nobody of two earlier find copies of "to kill a mockingbird." i have two kids and i love to collect old books and they constantly bicker about who gets what appeared to be a bit worried about who gets a copy of "to kill a mockingbird." well now i have to thanks to you. thank you all

and i kept thinking, what would atticus do now? what would atticus do now?a few years later when i began secretly writing my first novel, i was drawn back to "to kill a mockingbird" for the incredible storytelling ability of harper lee, for the timeless themes of injustice of and the loss of innocence, for the humor but most importantly at least for me, for the character of atticus finch. a few years later after my first book was published in several other books, i received a package one day unmarked, opened it up. it was from harper lee and it was a copy of "to kill a mockingbird." it was not the first edition. that book is still in print so there are still the additions on going but it was an early edition and she inscribed to john grisham, best wishes, harper lee. it is a prized possession. i have a place for it on the wall and today i will add it next to this award here. now that i have to. earlier dean randall gave me a signed copy of "to kill a mockingbird." i have two kids and i love to collect old books. they are constantly bickering about who gets w

please welcome atticus shaffer. hey, atticus. how are you doing? >> good.. >> jimmy: how old are you. >> i'm 13. >> jimmy: that means pg-13 movies can you go to on your own. that's a big age, teenage. >> definitely, definitely. >> jimmy: this is the third season of "the middle." are people recognizing you. >> yeah, they really have been. there have been a lot of -- there have been a lot of people that recognize me and i'm into the used to it. when i see people staring at me, is there a booger in my nose, but -- >> jimmy: then that one day where there is -- >> yeah, there is, yeah. yeah. no, but there have been -- i don't want to say strange but there have been unique people that come up to me and how they react to the show and i really like to see it because i like feedback because -- >> jimmy: what will they say to you. >> well, i mean them's say, there was this -- actually this one time we were at comicon for my other show, voice over show i do "fish hooks." we were walking to dinner, myself, my mom and my brother and the man -- another man and his girl c

you got children of your own. >> atticus finch. >> this ring that belonged to your mother. you want to tell us what really happened? >> i got nothing to say. do nothing about it. you coward! >> gentlemen, i shall be brief but i would like to use the

aties cuss finch -- atticus finch didn't have to deal with a 24-hour news cycle. tony serra didn't have to deal with bloggers in his career. i think what's going on in new york city where the head of the i.m.f. was arrested for doing some untorrid things in a big hotel. i found it ironic last night that eliot spitzer was interviewing people talking about these sorts of activities, and that cycle is going on and on. if you want to play a drinking game, you know, who wants to take bets of when we're going to have the first appearance of gloria allred? it's inevitable. i'm getting off the point a little bit here. but at some point i think it was around the time of the o.j. case where you had this confluence of a big public figure, it was a juicy trial, and cable news was just becoming a force. it changed the environment in which we operate, at least criminal system operates. because it's not just cases anymore, it's entertainment. it's a whole media frenzy on big cases. and i don't think that's a very good thing, but that is the environment in which we operate. and l

not because atticus finch is the smartest guy on the block, but because the movie makers are the smartest guys on the block. [applause] >> once again we have all the books by our novelists here and our writers here in the front. or you can find them on amazon.com. i'd like to thank mary mcdonagh murphy, who joined us from new york via skype, and john -- john is actually a descendant of the first chief justice of the u.s. supreme court. paulette frankl, "lust for justice," tony serra, and sheldon siegal. so before we take a break, i do have a surprise. a few years ago, i guess six or seven years ago, i met an amazing artist. i was visiting his home. and he had created this wonderful sculpture. i immediately recognized it as being clarence. it turned out that he had created a number of just amazing sculptures of trial lawyers. and he went on to do one of clara fults, the first woman attorney in california and became the leader of the public defender movement. and just by happenstance, he called me and had this idea of encapsulating one of the greatest trial attorneys of our times. so, bill?

and atticus did something that his neighbors and parts of his family didn't expect him to do. i think what's interesting about the novel is america was a deeply divided place. especially in the deep south. segregation was still not yet against the law. and particularly for white southerners, this novel, which caught on, you know, famously and quickly, it gave white southerners a way to think about how they were raised and to think about the system in which they were raised. it did so perhaps in a way that a political speech didn't do because it was told through the eyes of a child. it was a popular story that wasn't just about race, it about growing up in a small town. it was about coming of age. it was about love. it was about lonliness. it had all the suspense. the novel had so many elements with which to draw people in. >> so the tremendous amount of -- about harper lee. i know she never wrote another book. it was a pulitzer prize-winning book, and the film won the academy award. and yet she never wrote another book. what did you learn about harper lee and her reasons? >> w

the second -- i thought that atticus finch was my dad.he second time i read it, i thought he was my husband. this year, i thought maybe i should read it again. i thought there might be something in there that would teach me. this year when i read it, i realize i am atticus finch. [applause] in fact, all of us are. when you hear someone say that people who are unemployed should vote or thevallowed to people who do not own property should not be allowed to vote, then somebody has to stand up. i am going to stand up. when he votes against social security and medicare and the best interests of our seniors, when he votes against flood relief for the people of our own district, when he votes against the issues that are important to us, somebody has to stand up. my question to all of you is will you stand? will you stand? will you stand? [applause] we will stand to gather and win the fourth district, and the third district, and the second district, and the first district, and take those 25 seats for congress, and then we will move forward with t

we have a real-life atticus finch, tony serra, who is here and has motivated so many of us to do what we do. our second panel looks at abuse of power, abuse of power and how it happens and why it happens and most importantly what we can do and need to do to prevent it. whether it's a prosecutor or a judge or a defender render ineffective assistance to counsel or a police officer violating constitutional rights. this is not something we can tolerate, yet it happens each and every day. and our panel is going to delve deep into the issues that we're seeing not only here in the bay area but throughout the country and throughout the world. our third panel after lunch will talk about the future of the death penalty and hopefully its demise. you might be surprised that we are having a conversation here in san francisco about the death penalty. as you know, our district attorney has indicated that he may seek the death penalty in appropriate cases in san francisco, and that has not been the case for the past decade. but he's coming today to talk about his views. we also have a former warden a