The stories begin:

This afternoon in court I sat at the counsel’s desk waiting on the Judge to appear. It was a hot, sticky day and the defendants in the audience were too tired to make much noise.

A male bailiff walked out of the off-room prisoner containment room laughing. Behind him, a tall, thin female bailiff walked jingling four pair of stainless-steel hand cuffs just like jewelry.

“Don’t come in here with those. I’m always in trouble with the Judge.” I laughed.

As she walked by me, she said, “I don’t need these. I have a taser for you.”

I thought then that it was a perfect example of the real world I wanted in my books. Deadly serious. Laughing. The full spectrum of crime, courts, and the colorful people you can find in it.

Welcome to Russell’s Stories.