Hidden Behind the Robe is a delicious and riveting chronicle about scandals and dysfunction in a California courthouse. Protagonist Charles Dunning is a decent, hardworking trial judge whose life is thrown into a tailspin when he is falsely accused of racism. The accusation stems from a procedural ruling he made more than 20 years ago in a murder case (during a “Marsden” hearing). His anonymous accuser is quickly revealed to be an arrogant, smarmy judge (Judge William Davis Hyde) who presides in the same courthouse and is trying to deflect attention from his own serious problem—an investigation regarding his predatory behavior toward women in the courthouse. While Judge Hyde’s courthouse conduct with women employees is well known, egregious, and shocking (set forth in the book with descriptions that are not for the faint of heart), it is Judge Dunning who is vilified and the subject of national media focus, spotlighting racism in the courts. Judge Dunning’s career appears doomed—based on an accusation that seems at best dubious. Meanwhile, the career of an upstanding public defender (whose alleged racism was supposedly tolerated or ignored by Judge Dunning) is also ruined in the process.

The novel is written mostly in the first person from Judge Dunning’s perspective. The author is obviously an “insider” in the American justice system. He writes with a gravitas that reflects deep knowledge of the criminal justice world. His characters are rich and entertaining, from criminals in the courtroom such as the foul mouthed recidivist named “D’Minimus”; to Judge Dunning’s “perpetually aloof” Courtroom Deputy, Sheriff Kemp; to the obnoxious bow tie wearing sexual predator Judge Hyde; to the lazy, dishonest Harvard alum lawyer Lenny Fraker; to the young journalist Aaron Dawson who unexpectedly ferrets out the truth. Most importantly, the sympathetic, fair, and likable Judge Dunning is admirably resilient and calm—while grappling with the likely end of his storied career.

The book is thought provoking without lecturing at all. On the one hand, it describes the unraveling of a decent public servant’s life, due to anonymous, false accusations—with some accusers shielded by well intended, whistleblower statutes. On the other hand, the author points out that there is real racism in the criminal justice system—noting that the convicted murderer at the center of the racism accusation “never had a chance from the moment he was born,” and race and luck had certainly been a factor in his life.

I give this work a 5-star rating. It is terrific storytelling and thoroughly enjoyable, whether you’re a fan of the legal thriller genre or not.