Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for The Jailhouse Lawyer by Calvin Duncan

1. Calvin begins his prologue by quoting a line from Charles Dickens' David Copperfield that he used often during his time teaching law at Angola: "'Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.'" (p. 1) Why do you think these words are so important to Calvin?
2. In what ways are Calvin's story and the stories of those incarcerated along with him affected by the 1980s and 1990s "War on Crime" era?
3. What unique challenges and opportunities did Calvin and his friends encounter as they tried to help each other in the midst of their confinement?
4. Calvin chooses, early in his incarceration, "…to make the law the site for his battles, where winning would build character rather than destroy it." (p. 60) What are the ramifications of that choice, for himself and for those around him?
5. What role does Calvin's family play in his life, both in his early childhood and then during his time in Angola?
6. How does Calvin's early legal work with residents of Angola's mental health unit shape the rest of his time as an inmate counsel?
7. Discuss the roles played by Judge Frank Shea and Judge Julian Parker in Calvin's story. How do their personal dispositions and preferences affect the legal processes surrounding Calvin's trial and appeals for post-conviction relief?
8. How did figures like Mrs. Rabalais, Emily Bolton, Alvin, Emily Maw, and others offer needed support to Calvin at key moments during his incarceration?
9. What about Calvin's journey through the legal system most surprised you? Angered you?
10. One of the first things Calvin teaches the students in his law class is to know their cases inside and out. "'Your case is your life,'" he says. "'Don't ever let it rest in someone else's hands.'" (p. 204) Why is this Calvin's first lesson? And how does this lesson play out in Calvin's own case?
11. As Calvin's legal journey concludes with a guilty plea to time served ("It was the only time he would ever lie under oath" (p. 342)), what thoughts do you have about truth? What truth(s) mattered for Calvin's case in the end? How did his character and behavior while incarcerated become an important truth apart from the facts of his case?
12. Calvin's coauthor, Sophie Cull, writes, "The more I learned through our interviews, the more I saw that Calvin being wrongfully convicted—grotesque and unimaginable as it was—was in some ways the most ordinary aspect of his experience." (p. 350) What light does this shed on the United State' carceral system, and on the lack of justice for Black men in Louisiana and New Orleans in particular?
13. Reflect on the significance of Mount Hood for Calvin throughout his story, and his words when he visits with Sophie after he is released: "Now, I am really free." (p. 361)

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Penguin Press. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.