Characters
Darby Shaw
Darby Shaw is a young law student who attends Tulane Law School. She is in a relationship with her professor, Thomas Callahan. When she finds out that two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated, she works for days on a brief detailing a possible theory about the assassinations. She does not think that her theory is correct, but Callahan asks to read it. She gives it to him, and he shows it to his friend Gavin Verheek, a government lawyer with the FBI. He passes it to a higher level in the FBI, and before long, it has reached the Director of the FBI, F. Denton Voyles, and the President. When Thomas Callahan is killed, she realizes that someone was trying to kill her, and that her theory was accurate. She runs from New Orleans, changes her appearance, and hides from the killers. She is pursued, but tries to stay alive. She teams up with Gray Grantham, an investigative reporter from the Washington Post, and offers him a chance to print her story if he helps her. He agrees, and together they investigate the Pelican Brief in an effort to expose the truth.
Thomas callahan
Thomas Callahan is a Constitutional Law professor who teaches at Tulane University Law School. He is in a relationship with his student, Darby Shaw. He asks to read Darby's brief, and shows it to Gavin Verheek. It is passed through the government, and found by the killers. After drinking too much after a date with Darby, he attempts to drive his Porsche. As he gets in the car, he is blown up by a car bomb, which Darby realizes was meant for her.
Gray grantham
Gray Grantham is an investigative reporter for the Washington Post newspaper. He receives a call from Darby Shaw, asking for help. In exchange for his help, she offers him the chance to write the story of a lifetime: the truth behind the killings of justices Rosenberg and Jensen. He accepts, and he and Darby investigate her theory, finding that the conspiracy reaches farther then they had imagined.
Justice Abraham rosenberg
Abraham Rosenberg is the oldest Supreme Court Justice out of the seven other justices. He has extreme opinions, and as a result of that, receives many death threats. He refuses warnings from the FBI and the chief justice that his security is inadequate, and continues to stubbornly say no to an increase in security. Late one night, a killer sneaks into his house, and kills him.
Justice Glenn Jensen
Glenn Jensen is a Supreme Court Justice. His opinions are the opposite of Rosenberg's. Instead of being extreme and stubborn, his views tend to never stay constant. Like Rosenberg, he refuses increased FBI security, which results in his murder.
Gavin verheek
Gavin Verheek is Thomas Callahan's best friend from law school. Months before the Pelican Brief was written, Thomas and Gavin made a dinner reservation in Washington D.C., where Verheek is a lawyer for the FBI. Thomas gives Gavin the Pelican Brief, and Gavin reads it. He thinks it is a promising and plausible theory, and shows it to a higher level in the FBI. Before long, the brief has reached the director of the FBI, F. Denton Voyles. Voyles decides to investigate, and chaos ensues. Darby asks Verheek for help, and he agrees to help her. They set up a rendezvous, but before they can meet, Gavin is killed.
F. Denton voyles
F. Denton Voyles is the director and head of the FBI. When he receives the Pelican Brief, he does not think that Darby's theory is accurate, but proceeds to investigate to make the President uncomfortable. Voyles thinks that the President is a mindless automaton, controlled by his aide, Fletcher Coal (and he is correct). Voyles despises Coal, and exaggerates the importance and relevance of the brief, since it is potentially damaging to the President.
bob gminski
Bob Gminski is the head of the CIA, and teams up with Voyles to investigate the Pelican Brief. He also hates Coal, but ceases his investigation of the brief after the President (controlled by Coal) asks him to back off.
the president
The President is up for re-election in a year, and wants to hide the brief. Coal tells the president that the brief could damage his chances, so the President asks the FBI and CIA to cease their investigation. The President virtually has no control over the country, and instead allows Fletcher Coal to tell him what to do. Coal has the real power, and the President goes along with most of his suggestions. In lieu of running the country, the President practices his golf skills.
Fletcher coal
Fletcher Coal is virtually the President's puppet master. He basically runs the country, and controls the President. Coal orchestrates the cover up of the Pelican Brief, and produces most of the President's orders and suggestions pertaining to the brief.
Garcia
Gray Grantham receives an anonymous call from a man who calls himself Garcia. Garcia tells Grantham that he has information about the killings, and Grantham tries to solicit that information. During a call with Gray, Garcia has a change of heart, saying that it is too dangerous for him to tell what he knows. Grantham eventually stops hearing from Garcia, but manages to trace Garcia's calls to local pay phones, and takes his picture. Darby and Gray set out to find Garcia, because Gray thinks that Garcia will verify his story.