The Pelican Brief

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The Pelican Brief is a legal/suspense thriller written by John Grisham in 1992. The hardcover edition (ISBN 0385421982) was published by Doubleday in that same year. Two paperback editions were published, both by Dell Publishing and both in 1993.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story kicks off with the assassination of two philosophically divergent Supreme Court Justices. While the public speculates about who may have killed them and why, the main character, Darby Shaw, researches the two justices' records and cases pending before the Court, suspecting the real motive might be simple greed, not politics. She writes a legal brief speculating that the assassinations were committed on behalf of Victor Mattiese, an oil tycoon wanting to drill for oil on swamp land currently occupied by an endangered breed of pelicans. The land is therefore protected from development, and a court case on appeal, filed on his behalf to gain access to the land, is expected soon to make its way to the Supreme Court. The two slain justices had a history of environmentalism — their only common view — and thus Darby surmises that Mattiese, who has a pre-existing business relationship with the President, hoped to turn the case in his favor by eliminating two justices, thus leaving his friend the President in a position to appoint new justices more likely to rule in his favor.

Darby shows the brief to her law professor/mentor/lover, Thomas Callahan, who shows it to his Washington-based friend, Gavin Verheek. Both men are killed soon after. Darby comes to the attention of Washington Post reporter Gray Grantham, and the two set out to prove her brief correct. Government forces quickly take sides, with the President trying to cover up his connection to Mattiese, which would be politically damaging; the FBI wants to get hold of Darby to verify her story; and allies of Mattiese try to kill her to cover up the story.

The Pelican Brief was adapted into a feature film in 1993, directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Julia Roberts in the role of Darby and Denzel Washington as reporter Grantham. The book's subplot of romantic tension between Darby and Grantham is conspicuously absent from the film.

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List of characters

Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) - Second year law student; author of the brief
Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) - reporter for the Washington Post
Fletcher Coal (Tony Goldwyn) - White House Chief of Staff; unofficial head of power
Khamel "Sam" (Stanley Tucci) - international assassin
Thomas Callahan (Sam Shepard) - law school professor; romantically involved with Darby Shaw
Gavin Verheek (John Heard) - FBI lawyer; friend to Thomas Callahan
F. Denton Voyles (James Sikking) - Director of the FBI
Bob Gminski (William Atherton) - CIA Chief
The President (Robert Culp) - elected U.S. President; delegates many administrative duties to Fletcher Coal
Justice Rosenberg (Hume Cronyn) - eldest, most controversial Supreme Court Justice
Justice Jensen (Ralph Cosham) - youngest Supreme Court Justice

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External links

{{{2|{{{title|The Pelican Brief}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Database
The Pelican Brief at Grisham's Official site

John Grisham's novels (as of 2005)
1980s: A Time to Kill 1990s: The Firm — The Pelican Brief — The Client — The Chamber — The Rainmaker — The Runaway Jury — The Partner — The Street Lawyer — The Testament 2000s: The Brethren — A Painted House — Skipping Christmas — The Summons — The Bleachers — The King of Torts — The Last Juror — The Broker