Jeffrey Toobin
Autor von The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
Über den Autor
Jeffrey Toobin has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1993 and is also the legal analyst for ABC News. He received his A.B. from Harvard College and is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School. Toobin lives in New York City with his wife and two children. (Publisher Provided) mehr anzeigen Jeffrey Toobin was born in New York City in 1960. In 1982, he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in classics, and earned a Truman Scholarship. In 1986, he graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude with a J.D. Toobin is the bestselling author of The Nine, Too Close to Call, A Vast Conspiracy, The Run of His Life and American Heiress. He is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the senior legal analyst at CNN. (Bowker Author Biography) weniger anzeigen
Werke von Jeffrey Toobin
American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst (2016) 569 Exemplare
A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President (1999) 283 Exemplare
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- Gebräuchlichste Namensform
- Toobin, Jeffrey
- Rechtmäßiger Name
- Toobin, Jeffrey Ross
- Geburtstag
- 1960-05-21
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- male
- Nationalität
- USA
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- New York, New York, USA
- Ausbildung
- Harvard University (BA ∙ 1982)
Harvard University (JD ∙ 1986) - Berufe
- Jurist
Journalist
legal analyst - Beziehungen
- Sanders, Marlene (Mutter)
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- The New Yorker
ABC
CNN - Preise und Auszeichnungen
- Emmy (2000)
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Entertaining read with an overall focus on personalities of the Court and the attempt of the Right, beginning around the time of Reagan's election and the founding of the Federalist Society, to take control of the Court and wrench it in their direction, which showed signs at the time of the book's publication following the 2007 term of finally coming to fruition.
Thanks to this intense effort, it seems impossible to credit that we will ever again be surprised by a Supreme Court justice's views on Constitutional issues, as once could happen. A Republican President today would not be allowed by his base to nominate someone like Sandra Day O'Connor, a favorite subject of this book, whose rulings on contentious issues were based not so much on any specific judicial philosophy as by a political interest in finding the "center" of an issue, guided by her usually unerring sense of where a majority of the American people were on it.
This led her, along with Souter and Kennedy, all Republican appointees, to shock the Republican base when they upheld Roe v. Wade, another favorite subject of this book, in the Casey decision, when it seemed more probable that it would be overturned. While O'Connor was driven by public opinion, Kennedy comes across as driven by an eagerness to be the center of attention, and to be dramatic.
There's lots of other good stuff in the book, such as how Ruth Bader Ginsburg believes the Constitution protects a woman's right to have an abortion under a different theory than Roe v. Wade, the Court's various rulings on church and state issues, how the dynamics on the Right doomed the Harriet Miers nomination when once she would have easily been confirmed, and profiling the smooth and ultra-competent poster boy of the Right, John Roberts, whose right-wing bonafides ironically only Miers seemed to have much doubt about.
While the last chapter comes close to concluding that the Right has finally won with Alito replacing O'Connor, giving them a solid 5-4 majority over the liberals, an afterword published to an edition a year later pulls back a bit on this theory, noting that Roberts was giving small signs of hesitation about the Court's shift to the right.
Later, of course, Roberts would provide the deciding vote in ruling Obamacare, the issue that most infuriated the Right since Roe, Constitutional. So, perhaps, the Court and its justices can continue to surprise us. Long may they frustrate the Right's ambitions.… (mehr)
Thanks to this intense effort, it seems impossible to credit that we will ever again be surprised by a Supreme Court justice's views on Constitutional issues, as once could happen. A Republican President today would not be allowed by his base to nominate someone like Sandra Day O'Connor, a favorite subject of this book, whose rulings on contentious issues were based not so much on any specific judicial philosophy as by a political interest in finding the "center" of an issue, guided by her usually unerring sense of where a majority of the American people were on it.
This led her, along with Souter and Kennedy, all Republican appointees, to shock the Republican base when they upheld Roe v. Wade, another favorite subject of this book, in the Casey decision, when it seemed more probable that it would be overturned. While O'Connor was driven by public opinion, Kennedy comes across as driven by an eagerness to be the center of attention, and to be dramatic.
Kennedy relished his public role and sought out the opinions that would make the newspapers. Seated at his keyboard typing furiously, Kennedy always labored most closely on the sections of opinions that might be quoted in the New York Times.Souter, the ringleader of the effort to save Roe, was altogether different: shy, reclusive, cautious, with a strong respect for Court precedent. Also a famous bachelor.
Over the years, practically everyone Souter knew in Washington, including First Lady Barbara Bush, tried to fix him up. None succeeded. One of his fellow justices once prevailed on Souter to take a woman out to dinner, and she reported back that she thought the evening had gone very well - until the end. Souter took her home, told her what a good time he had, then added: "Let's do this again next year."This 'betrayal' infuriated Antonin Scalia, who is often and easily infuriated, and who writes the most withering and insulting dissents of any justice. Not that his ultra-aggressive behavior often does him much good.
But by the time of Casey it was clear that Scalia's zest, passion, and intelligence did not translate into the most important thing one member of a court of nine could have - influence... [Kennedy] came to be repelled by Scalia's dogmatism.The most extreme member of the court however is not Scalia, but rather Clarence Thomas. Thomas, seemingly forever embittered and angry by his difficulty during his confirmation process, stands unique among the justices in his entirely retro beliefs, wishing to turn back the clock completely to the pre-New Deal days, invalidating such now basic programs and laws as Social Security, a minimum wage, work hours and safety conditions, etc. If the founders didn't themselves know about it or explicitly advocate it, he believes, it's not Constitutional, despite the fact that over 200 years have passed.
Probably the greatest contrast between Thomas and his colleagues was that he fundamentally did not believe in stare decisis, the law of precedent... That no justice had expressed views like his for decades - and that his approach would invalidate much of the work of the contemporary federal government - disturbed Thomas not at all... At an appearance at a New York synagogue in 2005, Scalia was asked to compare his own judicial philosophy with that of Thomas. "I am an originalist," Scalia said, "but I am not a nut."O'Connor tended to view people, events, happenings, as either "attractive" or "unattractive". By the end of her stay on the Court, she found that the GOP of her day was pretty much gone, replaced by the fiercely ideological and right-wing GOP of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, which she found appallingly "unattractive". Her replacement on the Court by Samuel Alito, a lawyer and judge raised professionally in the Federalist Society whose right-wing ideology could not be doubted, represents this new era.
There's lots of other good stuff in the book, such as how Ruth Bader Ginsburg believes the Constitution protects a woman's right to have an abortion under a different theory than Roe v. Wade, the Court's various rulings on church and state issues, how the dynamics on the Right doomed the Harriet Miers nomination when once she would have easily been confirmed, and profiling the smooth and ultra-competent poster boy of the Right, John Roberts, whose right-wing bonafides ironically only Miers seemed to have much doubt about.
While the last chapter comes close to concluding that the Right has finally won with Alito replacing O'Connor, giving them a solid 5-4 majority over the liberals, an afterword published to an edition a year later pulls back a bit on this theory, noting that Roberts was giving small signs of hesitation about the Court's shift to the right.
Later, of course, Roberts would provide the deciding vote in ruling Obamacare, the issue that most infuriated the Right since Roe, Constitutional. So, perhaps, the Court and its justices can continue to surprise us. Long may they frustrate the Right's ambitions.… (mehr)
Homegrown is a powerful tour-de-force that contains extraordinarily pertinent information for American citizens in the current atmosphere of divisiveness, polarity, non-tolerance, racism and hate. It sheds light on the large number of right wing extremist groups and movements and largely explains their origins, growth and beliefs. It strips off the blinders we tend to wear and exposes plainly and explicitly the details of right wing extremism, given powerful boosts by the internet and Trump and poised, ready to and capable of toppling what's left of our fragile democracy and end this two plus century American experiment.
Here we learn in detail the story of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber and the precursor to today's right wing extremist; such as those participating in the January 6, 2021 violent insurrectionist attack on the nation's Capitol. Timothy McVeigh was indoctrinated with right wing propaganda starting in high school. He became obsessed with the radical extremist talk show hosts of the time such as Rush Limbaugh who spewed their poison daily. In fact he fell down the right wing extremist rabbit hole completely, embracing their magazines, books, articles, etc. It was in fact a book of fiction sold through a mail order advertisement in a militant periodical that gave him the general outline and blueprint for the tragic bombing and loss of innocent lives that he was responsible for.
For me, it was hard to read, to face where we are and where we are heading as a country. Homegrown is so very informative, and one of the most important books out there in my opinion. Learning and understanding the history and motivations of the right wing extremist groups is imperative. As they say, knowledge is power; and I feel that only through knowledge will we have any hope of saving Democracy in America. As it is, it is hanging by a thread.… (mehr)
Here we learn in detail the story of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber and the precursor to today's right wing extremist; such as those participating in the January 6, 2021 violent insurrectionist attack on the nation's Capitol. Timothy McVeigh was indoctrinated with right wing propaganda starting in high school. He became obsessed with the radical extremist talk show hosts of the time such as Rush Limbaugh who spewed their poison daily. In fact he fell down the right wing extremist rabbit hole completely, embracing their magazines, books, articles, etc. It was in fact a book of fiction sold through a mail order advertisement in a militant periodical that gave him the general outline and blueprint for the tragic bombing and loss of innocent lives that he was responsible for.
For me, it was hard to read, to face where we are and where we are heading as a country. Homegrown is so very informative, and one of the most important books out there in my opinion. Learning and understanding the history and motivations of the right wing extremist groups is imperative. As they say, knowledge is power; and I feel that only through knowledge will we have any hope of saving Democracy in America. As it is, it is hanging by a thread.… (mehr)
A compelling, well researched book that places the Oklahoma City Bombing in it's proper context of right wing political violence in America.
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Overall, highly recommended if you're interested in the Judicial system at all. Ranks right up there with Team of Rivals as "Best Historical/Political Nonfiction"… (mehr)