Implied Consent
By Cody Fowler Davis | Palari Publishing,2008
Green 61
By Cody Fowler Davis | Little Moose Press, 2006
Cody Davis, an accomplished lawyer and model of professionalism, died far too young in 2017 after an exemplary career during which he still found time to write two entertaining legal novels.
Perhaps drawing on concepts he encountered during his career, Davis published Green 61 in 2006 and Implied Consent in 2008. Both feature Parker Anderson as the protagonist lawyer.
In Green 61, Anderson is seeking justice for family members killed in a boating accident. As ethical as Anderson is, his opponent—and former employer—in the suit is not.
Implied Consent features the return of both main characters, with Anderson’s opposing lawyer hiring a seductive paralegal as a mole in Anderson’s law firm, which sets up a scene that seems to be prescient of an infamous Tampa case five years later.
During a 2013 civil trial between two Tampa disc jockeys, one side’s actions led to three lawyers being disbarred. On the evening before closing arguments, a legal assistant for one firm went to the bar of a local restaurant and sat next to lead counsel for the other side.
While that lawyer had planned to walk home from the restaurant, the women persuaded him to drive her car because she appeared to be inebriated. The police “miraculously” appeared and took counsel into custody for suspicion of driving under the influence.
The next day, the rightfully suspicious trial judge ordered counsel to appear. His investigation led to the Bar bringing charges that led to the disbarment of three lawyers who participated in the setup.
But back to Davis’ books, which are written with an economy of words lacking in legal novels that can approach or exceed 500 or more pages. Both clock in at under 300 pages, making the plot (and professional) points with no wasted language.
While it’s a shame Davis passed at such a young age, in addition to the example he set while practicing, we have his works to remember him by.