NElL CHAYET'S LOOKING AT THE LAW

Can you sue your astrologer if the future doesn't pan out as predicted? That's the level of oddball legal minutiae covered in these ""real-life short stories"" about ""ordinary people who, for one reason or another, have met the law,"" by Boston, based lawyer/radio commentator Chayet. The collection consists of about 400 of Chayet's two-minute radio spots, categorized very loosely into chapters including family law (""That Old Familiar Theme""), personal injury (""Striking Out""), and first-amendment issues (""Small Media, At Large""). The repetitive radio-script format--snappy intro, quick summary of a case, clever end line--discourages prolonged reading, and these legal snippets are best taken in short doses. Though Chayet doesn't skirt Big Issues (there are numerous pieces on abortion, laetrile, school prayer, and right-to-die cases), he can't probe very far into them in the restrictive format. But there's plenty of pure entertainment value here, since Chayet has a good eye for off-the-wall lawsuits and unusual issues. If you're a shrink treating an airline pilot with suicidal tendencies, must you turn him in to the FAA? Can a woman change her name from ""Cooperman"" to ""Cooperperson?"" Can you cover up patriotic state slogans on your license plates? Can the state require amputation of your gangrenous leg if you want to keep it? Can you sue a law school for driving you crazy? If you're interested (a big ""if""), the answers are here. Very lightweight, but entertaining commuter-train reading for lawyers.