The book that inspired A Crime on the Bayou 
the acclaimed documentary film by Nancy Buirski

Near the mouth of the Mississippi River, in one of the most isolated places in America, a black teenager was arrested for touching a white teenager on the arm...

"One of the most important—and improbable—criminal cases in American history. ... A crack in the dam that strained to hold back racial strife. ... It would help dismantle the infrastructure of white supremacy that had strangled that community for centuries."

Deep Delta Justice is the story of the unlikely partnership between that young black man, Gary Duncan, and his radical white lawyer, Richard Sobol, who worked together to fight Duncan's case up to the U.S. Supreme Court, changing American law in the process.

And it is the story of their battle with Leander Perez, the segregationist lawyer who ruled Duncan's community as his personal fiefdom—a white-supremacist dictatorship fueled by oil money and racist zeal--for fifty years.
Finalist for 2021 Chautauqua Prize
Finalist for 2021 Audie Award
An Apple Audiobooks "Must Listen"
An Observer Best Book of the Spring
A Publishers Weekly Most Anticipated Book of Spring
A Library Journal Title to Watch
A LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2020
One of Smithsonian's New Books to Read

"Set against the backdrop of virulent racism seen throughout the South during the civil rights movement, Matthew Van Meter’s Deep Delta Justice takes readers through 'one of the most important — and improbable — criminal cases in American history.' A legal saga with an emphasis on storytelling, it’s a valuable contribution to the literature on the civil rights movement and the ongoing fight against white supremacy." - The Washington Post

"Arriving amid a global reckoning on police brutality and criminal justice, Deep Delta Justice demonstrates 'how a seemingly minor incident brought massive, systemic change.'" - Smithsonian Magazine

"This deeply researched and vividly written chronicle is the definitive account of one of the civil rights movement's most unheralded victories." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A seminal work of impeccable scholarship. Recommended to all working in the intersections of law, criminal justice, and social activism." - Library Journal (starred review)
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