A Personal Curriculum for Understanding Justice in America
- Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
- Sep 21
- 5 min read
A curated reading journey through the complexities of law, justice, and power in modern America
About This Curriculum
This personal curriculum is designed for anyone curious about how law really works in America—from the law curious who want to grasp the human stories behind our legal system, to aspiring law students seeking their path, to practicing lawyers wanting to broaden their understanding. Each nonfiction book reveals different facets of how law intersects with real lives, often in ways that textbooks never capture.
The Reading Journey
Book 1: A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr
The Foundation: Environmental Law and Corporate Accountability
We begin with Harr’s masterpiece about attorney Jan Schlichtmann’s eight-year legal battle against corporate giants who poisoned the water supply in Woburn, Massachusetts. This National Book Critics Circle Award winner serves as our primer on how civil litigation actually works—the grinding procedural battles, the enormous costs, the personal toll on attorneys and victims alike.
Key themes: Environmental justice, corporate responsibility, the economics of litigation, David vs. Goliath dynamics
Discussion points:
How does media coverage shape public perception of legal cases?
What are the real costs of seeking justice through the courts?
When is a legal “victory” actually a defeat?
Movie Pairing:
A Civil Action (1998) - The John Travolta adaptation is a rare case where the film actually does justice to the book’s themes about the grinding reality of environmental litigation.
📺 Dark Waters (2019, Mark Ruffalo) – Similar toxic tort story, this time against DuPont.
Book 2: Evicted by Matthew Desmond
Housing as a Human Right vs. Property as Profit
Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning ethnography takes us into Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods to examine how eviction perpetuates poverty. This isn’t traditional legal scholarship—it’s boots-on-the-ground reporting that reveals how housing law affects real families.
Key themes: Housing rights, poverty law, systemic inequality, the intersection of race and housing policy
Discussion points:
How do landlord-tenant laws vary by jurisdiction, and what drives those differences?
What role should courts play in addressing systemic social problems?
How do legal procedures themselves become barriers to justice for low-income litigants?
TV/Movie Pairing:
📺 Treme (2010 – 2013), a fictionalized TV series about life after Hurricane Katrina
📺 PUSH (2019, documentary) – Follows Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on Housing, exploring housing as a human right.
🎬 The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (2011, documentary) – Examines housing inequality and failed policy through the lens of public housing in St. Louis.
Book 3: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Criminal Justice and the Promise of Equal Protection
Stevenson’s memoir chronicles his work defending death row prisoners, particularly those who were wrongly convicted. This book forces us to confront how bias, poverty, and race distort our criminal justice system.
Key themes: Criminal defense, death penalty, racial bias in sentencing, juvenile justice, prosecutorial misconduct
Discussion points:
How do implicit biases affect legal decision-making?
What constitutional protections exist in theory vs. practice?
How can lawyers balance zealous advocacy with broader social reform?
TV/Movie Pairing:
🎬 Just Mercy (2019, film starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx) – Direct adaptation of Stevenson’s work.
📺 When They See Us (2019, Ava DuVernay miniseries) – Not Stevenson’s case, but a powerful parallel on wrongful convictions and systemic racism.
Book 4: Choose Your Opioids Deep Dive
Corporate Malfeasance and Mass Harm
Select one of these exposés of the opioid crisis to understand how corporate actors can cause massive public health disasters while exploiting legal loopholes:
Dopesick (Beth Macy)
📺 Dopesick (2021, Hulu miniseries) – Emmy-winning dramatization with Michael Keaton.
Dreamland (Sam Quinones)
📺 The Crime of the Century (2021, HBO documentary) – Explores Big Pharma’s role in fueling the crisis.
Empire of Pain (Patrick Radden Keefe)
🎬 All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022, documentary) – Nan Goldin’s battle against the Sacklers.
Pain Killer (Barry Meier)
📺 Painkiller (2023, Netflix miniseries starring Matthew Broderick) – Focused on Purdue Pharma.
Death in Mudlick (Eric Eyre)
📺 The Pharmacist (2020, Netflix documentary series) – A small-town pharmacist uncovers pill-mill corruption.
American Cartel (Scott Higham & Sari Horwitz)
📺 Frontline: Chasing Heroin (2016, PBS documentary) – Examines how political and corporate forces shaped the opioid crisis, a strong thematic companion to American Cartel
🎬 The Insider (1999, starring Russell Crowe & Al Pacino) – A whistleblower drama about Big Tobacco that echoes the same themes of corporate collusion, political power, and systemic harm.
Key themes: Corporate liability, regulatory capture, mass tort litigation, public health law, white-collar crime
Discussion points:
How should law balance innovation incentives with public safety?
What makes some corporate harms criminal vs. merely civil matters?
How effective are financial penalties in deterring corporate misconduct?
Book 5: The Pain Brokers by Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
The Lawsuit Factory and the Commodification of Justice
Our journey concludes with this upcoming exposé (out January 13, 2026, preorder now) of how con artists, call centers, and rogue medical providers exploited women suffering from defective pelvic mesh devices. This real-life thriller reveals the shadow economy that emerges around mass tort litigation—where patients become commodities and suffering becomes profit.
Key themes: Mass tort litigation, medical device regulation, gender bias in healthcare, litigation financing, legal ethics
Discussion points:
How do economic incentives shape litigation outcomes?
What protections should exist for vulnerable plaintiffs in mass tort cases?
How can the legal system better serve justice when dealing with widespread corporate harm?
TV/Movie Pairing:
Watch Hot Coffee, the HBO Documentary with J.R. Baxter in Chapter 3
Learning Objectives
By completing this curriculum, readers will:
Understand procedural reality: Grasp how legal procedures actually work, beyond civics class basics
Recognize systemic patterns: Identify how law reinforces or challenges existing power structures
Analyze stakeholder incentives: Understand how different actors’ economic incentives shape legal outcomes
Develop critical thinking: Evaluate when law serves justice vs. when it serves other interests
Connect law to lived experience: See how legal decisions affect real people’s daily lives
Discussion Guide Themes
Power and Access
Who can afford justice?
How do procedural rules affect case outcomes?
When does legal complexity serve power rather than justice?
Institutional Failures
How do regulatory agencies sometimes fail to protect the public?
What role does money play in legal outcomes?
How can well-intentioned systems produce unjust results?
Reform and Change
What legal reforms do these books suggest?
How can individuals work within flawed systems?
What role should lawyers play as social reformers?
For Different Audiences
Pre-law students: Pay attention to how each author describes legal procedures, attorney strategies, and professional ethics dilemmas. Consider which areas of law spark your passion.
Law students: Focus on how doctrinal law translates into practice. Notice gaps between legal theory and implementation. Consider how your future career choices might advance or hinder justice.
Practicing lawyers: Reflect on your own practice area’s strengths and blind spots. Consider how your professional decisions affect broader social outcomes.
The Law Curious: Think about how legal policies affect your community. Consider what changes you might advocate for as a voter and citizen.
Milo, the Law Curious (but mostly just hungry) Cat
Comments