Phyllis Coletta

PRIOR BAD ACTS is the story of attorney Maria Testa, mother of three small boys, caught in the vortex of a nasty sexual harassment case against an Atlantic City casino vice president. The title refers to a rule of evidence that precludes the introduction of any facts regarding past behavior in order to prove an intent or event in the present. In a broader context, the title reflects the theme of redemption sought by the main character when she simply cannot do what is required of her.

Bullied by the senior male partners onto the defense team on the case, Maria is assigned the repugnant task of emotionally eviscerating Pat Harding, the black female plaintiff, making sure that her foray into the legal waters is so awful that she will flail until she drowns. While facing this moral crisis, Maria’s mother is dying of a rare brain disease and her marriage is circling the drain. Both Pat and Maria face a conflict painfully well known to too many women: how far do you go to keep your job? This is not a legal “whodunit” but an intimate peek into the way the system encourages deceit, rewards those with money and victimizes people who put their faith in “justice.”