The widow wave : a true courtroom drama of tragedy at sea

"A compelling story of a modern day maritime tragedy that beautifully discusses the vital importance of advances in observational technologies, forecasts and communications in avoiding future loss of life at sea. Jay Jacobs skillfully weaves together the legal, scientific and maritime narratives to enthrall and educate the reader." Julie Thomas, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Manager of the Institute of Geo and Planetary Physics."Using his authenticating experience as a highly trained sailor and trial lawyer, Jacobs analyzes San Francisco's worst recreational fishing boat accident and its resulting litigation. The Widow Wave provides insight into this tragedy and depicts the infighting between the highly skilled lawyers and their expert witnesses. How this accident happened will keep you guessing right up to the end. The Widow Wave is crisply written, fast paced, and a most enjoyable read."Daniel J. Kelly. Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger. Past President of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, American Board of Trial Advocates (SF Chapter), and the International Society of Barristers. In addition he is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers."Trial lawyer Jay Jacobs, in a unique, personally revealing memoir, defends a widow and her deceased husband's honor in an intimate first person account of how the civil trial process unfolds. Mr. Jacobs leads the reader through the unraveling of the cause of a disastrous fishing boat accident that left five dead in the treacherous coastal waters of Northern California. The reader will learn about the strategies, shoals, and embroilments of a real life, vigorously contested trial with its many emotional upheavals. You will come to appreciate the intricacies of the adversarial legal system as your fingers turn the pages detailing each day's developments in a high stakes trial with intriguing twists and turns."Justice James Marchiano (ret.), formerly Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeals, First Appellate District"An intelligently told true story of honor, integrity and justice. The Widow Wave reminded me of The Perfect Storm, played out in a taut courtroom thriller. Jay Jacobs masterfully weaves the harrowing tale of the last voyage of The Aloha, and courtroom battle that followed. A great read."Robert Dugoni, NY Times Bestselling Author of 'My Sister's Grave' Will anyone ever know what happened to the Aloha, a sport fishing boat that vanished with all onboard in the Pacific off San Franciscos coast? Knowing is a complex, inexact business. Theres real truth and then theres courtroom truth; a jurys verdict may or may not approach what actually happened. Nor can someone reading about such an eventone that had no witnesses or hard evidence to explain itbe sure where the truth lies. But trials, judges, and juries are what we use in our legal system to find truth. The Widow Wave explores this alternate reality. It is a fascinating true-life mystery and lawyer procedural rolled into one. Jay Jacobs offers no facile answersand hes not the flawless protagonist typically starring in such dramas. He lets us see how such a big wrongful death case really unfolds, in a true story that reads like a novel. Will the jury find the truth? Will the reader? "Jay Jacobs vivid prose pulls you into a compelling drama, deftly transporting you from the courtroom to the storm-tossed Pacific and back to the courtroom again. The book reads like a well-wrought detective novel." Daniel James Brown, New York Times Bestselling Author of 'The Boys in the Boat' "An intelligently told true story of honor, integrity and justice. The Widow Wave reminded me of The Perfect Storm, played out in a taut courtroom thriller. Jay Jacobs masterfully weaves the harrowing tale of the last voyage of the Aloha, and courtroom battle that followed. A great read." Robert Dugoni, New York Times Bestselling Author of 'My Sister's Grave' "A compelling story of a modern day maritime tragedy that beautifully discusses the vital importance of advances in observational technologies, forecasts and communications in avoiding future loss of life at sea. Jacobs skillfully weaves together the legal, scientific and maritime narratives to enthrall and educate the reader." Julie Thomas, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Manager of the Institute of Geo and Planetary Physics "Trial lawyer Jay Jacobs, in a unique, personally revealing memoir, defends a widow and her deceased husband's honor in an intimate first person account of how the civil trial process unfolds.... The reader will learn about the strategies, shoals, and embroilments of a real life, vigorously contested trial with its many emotional upheavals." Justice James Marchiano (ret.), formerly Presiding Justice, California Court of Appeals, First Appellate District "Will anyone ever know what happened to the Aloha, a sport fishing boat that vanished with all onboard in the Pacific off San Francisco's coast? 'Knowing' may be a complex, inexact business. There's real truth and then there's courtroom truth; a jury's verdict may not approach what actually happened. Can someone reading about such an event-without witnesses or hard evidence to explain it-be sure where the truth lies? Still, trials and juries are what we use in our legal system to find truth. The Widow Wave explores this alternate reality. It is a fascinating true-life mystery and lawyer procedural rolled into one. Jay Jacobs offers no facile answers-and he's not the flawless protagonist typically starring in such dramas. He lets us see how such a big wrongful death case really unfolds, in a true story that reads like a novel. Will the jury find the truth? Will the reader? An intelligently told true story of honor, integrity and justice. The Widow Wave reminded me of The Perfect Storm, played out in a taut courtroom thriller. Jay Jacobs masterfully weaves the harrowing tale of the last voyage of the Aloha, and courtroom battle that followed."--Publisher description