Tales As Old As Crime

Laughter And Pain In The Criminal Injustice System

by Randy Schaffer

Formats

Softcover

$24.99

Hardcover

$38.99

E-Book

$3.99

Softcover

$24.99

Book Details

Language : English

Publication Date : 9/7/2025

Format : Softcover

Dimensions : 6x9

Page Count : 392

ISBN : 9781663275103

Format : Hardcover

Dimensions : 6x9

Page Count : 392

ISBN : 9781663275110

Format : E-Book

Dimensions : N/A

Page Count : 392

ISBN : 9781663275097

About the Book

It’s frequently said that, if people saw how sausage is made, they wouldn't eat it.

Randy Schaffer’s memoir, Tales as Old as Crime, posits that, if people knew how criminal cases are made, they wouldn't trust the system.

Criminal defense lawyers must resolve their clients’ problems in the most hostile work environment imaginable, contending with a fair share of police officers who will say and do anything to make a case, prosecutors who hide evidence, and witnesses who lie.

Moreover, many defense lawyers don't represent their clients effectively, and there are judges who issue rulings intended to help the prosecution obtain or keep a conviction. Nonetheless, there are occasional moments of joy and humor sprinkled in with all these shortcomings.

The author exposes both the dark side of the criminal courthouse and the gratifying moments that enable defense lawyers to get through the day – and continue to fight for clients. These are the backstories that the criminal injustice system wants to hide.

About the Author

Randy Schaffer, a criminal defense lawyer in Houston, Texas, graduated at the top of his class from the University of Texas Law School in 1973. He has tried cases in state and federal courts throughout Texas. He was named the Outstanding Criminal Defense Lawyer of 1989 by the State Bar of Texas following his representation of Randall Dale Adams, the wrongly convicted death row inmate whose case became the subject of the movie, The Thin Blue Line and the book, Adams v. Texas.

Customer Reviews

I can’t wait to read it.Randy is not only a great criminal lawyer but is also a terrific storyteller

Alan Ellis
This book is a deep dive into the highs and lows of Courts, Attorneys and Police by a Houston criminal defense attorney over the course of his ongoing career. It’s captivating how the author has been around and involved in some of the most titillating and unique cases in Houston history while working with and rubbing shoulders with such notable people. His litany of individual vignettes all stand alone successfully, but when combined and completed as a whole, tell an even bigger and more compelling tale. I think this piece of work should be mandatory reading for all law students, police and their recruits, and definitely all jurists. I highly recommend this book to all who want a humorous yet factual, honest review of how our judicial system operates. Order your copy today. This is a book you definitely want to read.

Dr. Rick Werner
I haven’t enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed reading Randy Schaffer’s Tales as Old as Crime in some time. It reads like a novel yet is a factual recounting of Schaffer’s more than 50 year career as a criminal defense lawyer. It is sometimes poignant and often laugh out loud funny, but always interesting – it’s a brilliant look inside the criminal justice system. Randy has a knack for succinctly condensing facts down to their core elements. Don’t miss this highly entertaining read!

Sissy Boyd
Great inside stories by a vert successful criminal defense lawyer dealing with prosecutors, judges and other defense counsel. A behind the scenes look at how the criminal justice system really works

Ron1964
6 stars! No member of the criminal justice system is spared in this laugh-out-loud and entertaining set of short stories about cases detailing misconduct by prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys. The author’s personal involvement in every case gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how things really happen in our courts. The superb titles and the wry observations that conclude each chapter keep you reading to the very end.

Ken Sparks
I read the book! It's fascinating AND true! Randy is a successful criminal defense attorney with marvelous "war" stories of what happens in criminal cases.

Tyler Moore
In Tales As Old As Crime, Randy Schaffer takes us on a wild ride through the criminal justice system all the way from Texas to Washington D.C. The book follows Schaffer’s career as a criminal defense attorney from his rookie season to extra innings. Throughout the 112 chapters, Schaffer introduces us to the good, bad, and ugly of law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, defense lawyers, and clients he has encountered in his practice. Schaffer provides a brief follow up on what ever happened to the key players in each chapter as well as the life lessons to be learned from transgressions of the bad actors. Tales As Old As Crime is a fascinating book about what really happens in the criminal justice system told from the perspective of a veteran player with a little humor thrown in when appropriate. This book should be required reading for all of those currently in or contemplating a career in the criminal justice system either as a professional or layman.

Rick Wetzel
Great read!

Jed Silverman
I have known Randy Schaffer for my entire 45 year career as a criminal defense lawyer. He is a first ballot hall of fame lawyer. His book is a fascinating read about him fighting for the citizen accused in hundreds of his mostly victorious cases. It will draw you in and not let you go. It should be required reading for law students taking any Criminal Law course.

Danny Easterling
Those of us fortunate enough to have had limited interaction with the criminal justice system might, as I have been, living under the impression that in the majority of situations justice is reasonably well served. In fact, it seems that many current criticisms of the system are that it is too lenient. Randy Schaffer’s Tales As Old As Crime offers a sobering and important corrective to both of these perceptions. Schaffer, even while in law school, was called to a practice of criminal defense, ignoring any and all pathways to more mainstream legal careers. He negotiated his way into a job with the firm Haynes and Fullenweider (H&F) while still in law school. The Haynes in H&F was Richard “Racehorse” Haynes, the colorful and extremely successful attorney then building his practice and reputation in criminal law. While working with Haynes offered a superb introduction to criminal law, it quickly becomes apparent to the reader that Schaffer took a somewhat different approach in representing clients. While Haynes’ specialty was persuasive courtroom performance, Schaffer’s approach was, and has remained throughout his career, to research and bring to bear every possible legal, procedural and circumstantial detail in support of his clients’ cases. And with great overall success. If anything, Schaffer’s career demonstrates that sweating the details can and does make the difference between winning and losing, or success and failure. In a very readable, almost conversational manner, the book itself revisits more than a hundred cases in which Schaffer was involved, in the vast majority as lead counsel. Also in the majority of instances - to get back to the point in the lead paragraph above - Schaffer was battling on behalf of his client against the mishandling of evidence by prosecutors, incompetent initial defense representation, or outright bias on the part of judges. He was often successful in doing so. But, in a number of cases, not. What is sobering in all cases, however, is to learn of the sheer number of times in his career that he had to deal with a judicial system seemingly driven to do whatever it had to do in order to gain convictions and resolve cases, regardless of whether the correct person was convicted or the punishment meted out was appropriate. To Schaffer’s credit, he for the most part resists the temptation to get into the heads of, and ascribe motives to, the prosecutors and judges whose questionable behavior he recounts. Readers might wish that he had, but the real value here is the record of actual events, and the cautionary tale that they collectively offer. For providing that to the reading public, Schaffer is to be commended.

Sam Enfield
This entertaining, enlightening book gives fascinating insights into the criminal justice system in Texas, and by extension, into some parts of the culture of Texas over the last 50 years. Highly recommended.

Ed Wischmeyer
For as long as I've known Randy (since mid-1960s), he's forever had a most interesting way of viewing the world. His memoir doesn't disappoint: it's a terrific read, remindful of my youthful readings of Robert Travers with some Erle Stanley Gardner thrown into the mix.

Jon Schwartz

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