The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir

Dominique’s murder is introduced in the Prologue, and the second part of The Friday Afternoon Club focuses on this tragedy, along with the subsequent trial of John Sweeney and the impact that both experiences had on the family. Griffin uses this context to explore both individual and systemic failings in the pursuit of justice.

Griffin’s recollections of the trial expose the limitations and failures of the justice system. From the outset, the Dunnes were aware that Judge Katz was operating with a bias: He found defense attorney Mike Adelson charming, and he took an instant dislike to both the Dunnes and the prosecutor, Steven Barshop. Because of this personal bias, Griffin argues, the judge favored Adelson in a way that negatively impacted the trial’s fairness. Adelson, for his part, defended Sweeney largely by attacking Dominique’s character in highly misogynistic terms—for example, bringing up her past abortion, as if this made her less deserving of justice. That this tactic appeared to have worked is an indictment of a justice system that all too often blames women for the violence committed against them by men. Sweeney’s sentence was widely believed to be disproportionately lenient in comparison to his crime. Furthermore, it appeared to have made no impact on Sweeney’s behavior once he was released after serving time—shortly after, he was fired from a restaurant job for punching a busboy. Griffin thus shines a light on the limitations of the justice system, from the presence of human bias to the ineffectiveness of punitive justice.

Griffin also showcases how, at a personal level, pain can cause one to conflate vengeance and hatred with justice. When his Mafia friends offered to have Sweeney killed in jail, Griffin seriously contemplated taking them up on the offer. This incident—so out of character for Griffin—illustrates the degree to which his anger at Sweeney threatened to overtake his personality. Earlier, when he visited a psychic, she offered a vision that foreshadowed this development: Dominique in limbo, overwhelmed by the pain, anger, and hatred that her brother was harboring.

The pain of Dominique’s death brought some members of her family together, but the anger it engendered also drove other members apart. Alex and Griffin assumed that their uncle John and aunt Joan had betrayed the family by remaining friends with the restauranteur who employed Sweeney and paid for his legal defense, and they played a cruel prank in an attempt to punish their relatives for this perceived betrayal. Eventually, both Alex and Griffin realized that vengeance does not bring about justice. Just as systems can be flawed and limited, Griffin conveys that justice cannot be left up to individuals, either—people can be equally blinded and ineffectual in their individual pursuits of justice.

Alongside these limitations and failures, Griffin also highlights what can be an effective or constructive way in which to pursue justice; his parents are the examples of this. Nick’s article, for instance, not only brought him fame but also drew attention to the lapses in the procedure of justice for Dominique. The media outcry eventually led to Judge Katz’s demotion, ensuring that he could not continue to inhibit justice at the scale he once did. On an even more impactful level, Lenny founded an organization that ended up having a real impact on legislation, with the Justice for Homicide Victims getting Marsy’s Law passed in 24 states, including California. Storytelling and activism, both aimed not at causing pain for the perpetrator but at making things safer for potential victims in the future, come through as positive and effective ways in which to move forward. With this, Griffin suggests that the pursuit of justice should be focused on building a better world in the future, not avenging the wrongs of the past.