Virginia Bolen

Finders Keepers: a Senior Citizen's Bizarre Encounter with Local Law Virginia Bolen

Finders Keepers is the actual account of an elderly woman's encounter with a justice system run amuck. She describes what happened to her and how she fought back over a period of years to gain vindication. She was harassed, intimidated, jailed, and pilloried in the press for a crime that law enforcement knew she did not commit. The case has startling similarities to the case made recently against the Duke lacrosse team. The author uses her own words, public records, correspondence, and newspaper articles to portray the personalities involved. The cast of characters includes jail inmates (even the girlfriend of a serial killer), sheriff's deputies, county attorneys, bridge players, the mother of a world champion poker player, and a Montana State Senator. In spite of the gravity of the matter, some of the characters inject humor into the experience. Finders Keepers will strike a chord with anyone who has faced the frustration of dealing with authorities, who ignoring facts and common sense, persist in yielding their power. It gives insight into the personalities and mind-set of these people. This case has been followed by the legal community, even outside of Montana, because of its challenge to prosecutorial immunity.