Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

Ike Boone is Woods’s brother and a former partner at Boone & Boone. Theo visits him every Monday because Marcella insists that Ike enjoys his visits, though Theo does not. Ike was disbarred and lost his license to practice law, but he continues to help people with their taxes. Because he is no longer a lawyer, he wears a relaxed wardrobe that consists of “faded jeans, sandals, a T-shirt that advertised beer, and various beaded bracelets on his left wrist” (50). Ike drinks alcohol and annoys Theo because he constantly tries to convince him to consider a different profession rather than go into law.

Theo turns to Ike when he learns about Julio’s cousin, because his uncle is no longer a licensed attorney, and therefore no longer an officer of the court. Ike becomes increasingly involved in Theo’s life, volunteering to keep an eye on the trial and learn more about the trial. He cares deeply about Theo telling him, “I’ll always protect you” (138). He also warns him that he shouldn’t get involved. Ike walks between the legal and the illegal in that he is knowledgeable of the law but also appears to have done something wrong to have been disbarred. Ultimately, he advises Theo to include his parents in on what is happening, causing him to grow closer again to Woods and Marcella.

Woods and Marcella Boone are the named partners of Boone & Boone, and their careers in law have had a clear impact on their son, who even has his own small, unofficial office within their firm. They prize Theo’s education above all else, and encourage him to actively engage in it, despite his belief that his only useful classes are Government and Spanish. Woods tries to prevent Theo from spending too much time at the trial when he should be at school by talking to Judge Gantry, and Marcella reinforces their importance.

Both parents are different in their approach to the legal field. Woods is disorganized and likes to smoke, and his offices are on the second floor of the office so that the others don’t have to smell the fumes. Marcella is a neat and organized divorce attorney, often advocating for women in her cases. She and the office secretary, Elsa, discuss how there is a different expectation for women in the legal profession. Together, the Boones each use their expertise to benefit their community, offering free legal services at the local soup kitchen.

When Theo comes to them with his knowledge of a mysterious witness for the Duffy case, they acknowledge the difficulty of his position and guide him to say that “[i]t seems to be that the best thing to do is to tell Judge Gantry the whole story” (185). When Theo relies on them, he helps Bobby and Julio so that they each have more secure living situations within the United States.

Judge Henry Gantry appears early in the novel as a judge whose presence caused “lawyers, good lawyers, rise and stutter and search for words” (12). Theo, however, drops by his office casually to ask if he and his class can reserve seats for the first day of the Duffy trial. He graciously grants Theo’s request and then asks Theo what he thinks about the trial itself, talking with the teenager as though he is a seasoned attorney.

When Gantry is confronted with the fact that there is another witness to the crime too late into the proceedings, he at first seems to feel that there is nothing that he can do. He deliberates about what can be done and tells the Boones that there isn’t anything to be done, though they are able to convince him to let the trial’s conclusion wait until the following Monday, rather than finishing on a Saturday.

Gantry is convinced by the Boones to declare a mistrial after hearing from Bobby himself, especially since he clearly identifies Pete Duffy as the murderer. Though he doesn’t state his reasons for declaring a mistrial, Gantry ultimately makes the decision to reset a trial date. This decision leads Theo to decide that he wants to be a judge when he grows up, one like Gantry “who knew the law inside and out and believed in fairness, but, more importantly, a judge who could make the tough decisions” (258).