Laughing at the Gods: Great Judges and How They Made the Common Law, by Allan C. Hutchinson, Cambridge University Press, 2012, pp. 328, Cdn$30.95

Most judges are competent, thoughtful, and professional. A few, who shall remain nameless, arguably have no business sweeping up the courtroom, much less presiding over it. And an even smaller number achieve true greatness on the bench.

You Can’t Read This Book: Censorship in an Age of Freedom by Nick Cohen, Fourth Estate, 2012, pp. 330, $19.99 in Canada

Britain’s plaintiff-friendly libel laws are so infamous, they’ve even inspired a gag on South Park. In the notorious “Trapped in the closet” episode, young Stan Marsh — thought to be the reincarnation of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard — announces that the “religion” is a giant scam. Scientologist Tom Cruise, furious at this gross insult to his faith, declares, “I’ll sue you — in England!”

Daughter of the Empire State: The Life of Judge Jane Bolin by Jacqueline A. McLeod University of Illinois Press, 2011

We all get nostalgic for the good old days, but every once in a while you learn something that shows you just how far we’ve come. Until reading Daughter of the Empire State: The Life of Judge Jane Bolin, I didn’t know the American Red Cross kept blood donated by white and black donors segregated until the 1940s.

The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion by Hugh B. Urban, pp. 268, Princeton University Press, 2011

An academic history of the Church of Scientology might not seem relevant to Canadian Lawyer magazine, unless you’re familiar with the controversial movement’s use of the justice system against its many detractors. Founder L. Ron Hubbard explained his legal philosophy in 1955: “The purpose of the [lawsuit] is to harass and discourage rather than to win. The law can be used very easily to harass, and enough harassment on somebody who is simply on the thin edge anyway . . . will generally be sufficient to cause his professional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly.”

Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Us; By Christie Blatchford, Doubleday Canada, 2010, pp. 258, $32.95

To understand what happened in Caledonia, Ont., in 2006, you have to understand what happened in Ipperwash, Ont., in 1995.

Tip and Trade: How Two Lawyers Made Millions from Insider Trading by Mark Coakley, ECW Press, 2011, 392 pp., $19.95

Until I read Tip and Trade: How Two Lawyers Made Millions from Insider Trading, I had no idea just how easy insider trading could be. All you need is a job in a law firm handling important corporate clients, access to said law firm’s computer system, and an unscrupulous law school buddy who will make the trades on your behalf. Of course, you may end up in prison or worse, but that’s the price of easy money, isn’t it?

Danny Williams: The War With Ottawa by Bill Rowe; Flanker Press, $19.95; 277pp.

Late last year, when Newfoundland and Labrador premier Danny Williams announced his resignation, it was front-page news across the country and one of the most talked-about events of the year. A few months earlier, when British Columbia premier Gordon Campbell resigned, Canadians asked, “Who’s Gordon Campbell again?”

By and large, I’m happy with the career path I’ve chosen, but I can’t say there haven’t been a few occasions when I’ve wondered if I should have gone into a less stressful line of work, like air traffic control.

In 1993, Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer took the life of his cerebral palsy-striken daughter, Tracy, rather than force her to go through another painful, potentially futile operation. Author Gary Bauslaugh argues that Latimer might have broken the law, but that he is not a criminal.

On April 12, The Province newspaper in Vancouver ran a story: “Woman assaulted in early-morning attack.” A woman in her 20s was “grabbed from behind by a man and sexually assaulted” in a “quiet Vancouver neighbourhood.”