James A. Kiger, senior member of Kiger & Kiger Lawyers of Washington Court House, holds a copy of his newest book “Something Fishy” that is newly released.
Gail Allen | R-H photos
Judge Max Dice’s painting of the only known covered bridge in Fayette County, destroyed in the 1960s, adorns the entry table in the Kiger Law Office on South Main Street.
WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — Prominent attorney and local historian, James A. Kiger, has written his third book and it is now for sale at his office on South Main Street.
Kiger, the senior member of Kiger & Kiger Lawyers of Washington Court House, spent the majority of his life in the court system. He has been an attorney in Washington Court House for 62 years, and he loves to write stories. He has a passion for county history and the U.S. Constitution.
Kiger said, “the court system has been an integral part of our country and one of the three branches of government.” He likes to go back in history to the days of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, the drafting of the Constitution and the Federalist Papers. He said Madison knew the court system would grow in this country long after he was gone.
Kiger said that “the greatest minds in our history determined the Constitution to be a flexible living document fragile in nature which must be carefully construed by the courts.”
Kiger’s new book is called “Something Fishy” and the story deals with the legal system and how it really works in rural America.
Kiger said, “lawyers need to look at the system, those who love the law, and try to improve the system.” Justice dictates that everyone gets a fair day in court. But we need to have respect for each other, be civil, and not run to the court system to solve everyday things. “Sometimes judgments are out of proportion to what spawned the circumstance,” Kiger acknowledged.
He says the system of justice has two facets, natural law and man-made law. In the new book, it states, “Madison, the genius behind the Constitution, visualized that as our nation grew that by necessity, growth would dictate a more complex judicial system, which would be needed to help govern the citizens of our nation.”
The book takes you into the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Smith’s best friend Patty, and how Mrs. Smith ended up in court. The twists and turns of their story are what keeps the book moving, and Kiger states it is a novel.
“This novel reflects what real life is about in the legal world, occurring every day in our country,” is a quote from the back cover of the book.
The cover was created from a painting in his office done by Judge Max Dice. It was the only known covered bridge in Fayette County, near Deer Creek, which vandals burned to the ground in the 1960s.
