“This lively account of the nation’s oldest, and perhaps its most exciting, trial court, chronicling the Communist trials of the hysterical McCarthy era, the exposing of America to the literature of sex, prosecutions of Mafia cartels, and sensational libel cases, is peppered with the perceptive observations of a wise, experienced litigator.” — Pierre N. Leval, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
“A delightful, intelligent read. Jim Zirin’s sparkling account of life in the Second Circuit’s famed MOTHER COURT is informative, riveting, accessible, and uplifting. It would be criminal not to read this book.” — Linda Fairstein, New York Times bestselling author and former prosecutor
The American justice system, which is the envy of the world, is based on a fair and impartial trial process and the concept of equal justice under law. America’s greatest trial court continues to be the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where the most celebrated trials of the 20th century occurred that became a metaphor for transformational changes in American society. Lawyers call it the “Mother Court,” our country’s oldest federal court. Created in 1789, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York antedates the U.S. Supreme Court. One of the first lawyers admitted to practice was Aaron Burr. Now, in The Mother Court: Tales of Cases That Mattered in America’s Greatest Trial Court (American Bar Association; June 2014; $29.95), James D. Zirin — appointed by the legendary U.S. Attorney Robert Morgenthau as a federal prosecutor — shares his fascinating insights into the premier crucible of justice, beginning with the crucial period in the nation’s history, the Cold War era of the 1950s, up to the present.
From racketeering and mobsters to censorship and national security, the Mother Court and these cases for the ages are interwoven and interconnected with the America we know today. Astute and perceptive, Zirin examines the Mother Court’s influence on profound issues — internal security, organized crime, terrorism, obscenity, white-collar crime, libel, official corruption, and press freedoms. It is the court that convicted Russian spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and freed Joyce’sUlysses, the sexually explicit film “I Am Curious Yellow,” and the Pentagon Papers from the censor’s grip. Taking us inside the major cases that unfolded during a time of tremendous change in American society, The Mother Court includes the “Red Scare” trial of Alger Hiss; Roy Cohn, Communist hunter of the McCarthy era; the sensational libel cases of Ariel Sharon and Time magazine; General Westmoreland and CBS; the libel action of Senator Barry Goldwater against eroticist Ralph Ginzburg; the government obscenity suit against the film “Deep Throat,” and Mayor Giuliani’s effort in 1999 to close down the Brooklyn Museum. There are notorious trial incidents, involving storied judges who made an indelible impact on justice in America.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James D. Zirin is a leading litigator who has appeared in federal and state courts around the nation. He hosts the critically acclaimed cable TV talk show “Conversations in the Digital Age.” A former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, his op-ed articles have appeared in theLos Angeles Times, The Times (London), The Washington Times, Forbes, and Barron’s. Capturing the unique traditions and contributions of the Mother Court, and sounding a wake-up call lest we lose something significant in the quality of justice, James D. Zirin provides an engrossing read in The Mother Court.