The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York goes so far back in our nation’s history that it predates the U.S. Supreme Court by several weeks, says author James D. Zirin. Established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, it is known as the “Mother Court.” The Manhattan courthouse has seen some of...
|
|
Lee Rawles joined the ABA Journal in 2010 as a web producer. She has also worked for the Winston-Salem...
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York goes so far back in our nation’s history that it predates the U.S. Supreme Court by several weeks, says author James D. Zirin. Established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, it is known as the “Mother Court.” The Manhattan courthouse has seen some of the most turbulent and important trials in the nation’s history, including the trials of Alger Hiss and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and the indictment of Osama bin Laden.
Zirin spent three years as an assistant U.S. Attorney under the legendary Robert M. Morgenthau, beginning in 1967. In that time, he argued 36 criminal cases before a jury, and met some of the most influential litigators and jurists in modern American legal history. After his work as a prosecutor, he continued to litigate cases in the Mother Court. His many recollections form a backdrop to his larger history, The Mother Court: Tales of Cases That Mattered in America’s Greatest Trial Court.
The Mother Court mixes history, personal recollections and advice for litigators. In this edition of the Modern Law Library, we discuss how Zirin came to write the book, and how the events of Sept. 11, 2001 affected him personally. When his office on the 54th floor of One World Trade Center was destroyed, his firm’s switchboard operator Rosemary Smith was killed. One of his clients, Berry Berenson, also lost her life as a passenger on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon. Zirin was unharmed, as he had not yet arrived at work, but lost all his notes and many personal mementos. In our interview, he makes his case for why the Mother Court would be the proper venue for all the terrorism trials relating to the Sept. 11 attacks.
Other topics include Zirin’s experiences practicing under Robert Morgenthau; the magnetic and divisive attorney Roy Cohn, who first rose to prominence during the McCarthy hearings; and how technological changes have affected the Mother Court.
The Mother Court: Tales of Cases that Mattered in America’s Greatest Trial Court by James D. Zirin
Notify me when there’s a new episode!
| Published: | June 30, 2014 |
| Podcast: | ABA Journal: Modern Law Library |
|
|
ABA Journal: Modern Law Library |
ABA Journal: Modern Law Library features top legal authors and their works.
Can artificial intelligence increase firms' revenue while cutting down on billable hours? The authors of AI for Lawyers say it's possible.
In 'Watergate Girl,' Jill Wine-Banks battles obstruction and the era's sexism to bring Nixon and cronies to justice.
A different kind of wave of coronavirus cases will be coming to courts. Here's what you should know before you take a case.
In Let The Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty, Maurice Chammah shares how Texas became the country's capital punishment...
The rules surrounding what we wear can be unwritten social mores or codified in law. Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History...
Most lawyers are cautious about change, but in The Modern Law Firm, Heinan Landa says technology adoption is key to getting and keeping clients.
