The Majority Rules [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Eugene Sullivan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005

Political connections had secured for Tim Quinn a seat on the appellate bench ... but in the court presided over by Chief Judge Harry Winston; Tim still had to learn

The Majority Rules

Tim Quinn, a Washington DC lawyer on the move, was flattered to be recommended by his friend Harry Winston to a vacancy on the bench caused by the unsavory death of one of the judges. He was also surprised to see how easy his nomination and confirmation turned out to be once Harry had given his approval and pulled more than a few strings.

Now Tim feels he has the chance to make a difference, and perhaps clear a path for an eventual trip to the highest court in the land.

But Tim soon realizes that Chief Judge Winston's influence and favors come at a price-not just undue influence from the Executive branch, but partiality towards private concerns as well, including a certain attorney whose cases often come before their bench..

Winston expects his favors to be repaid in kind, by following his judicial lead and assuring a consistent majority ruling in matters as he sees fit... and he is not afraid to bring pressure to bear, financial or otherwise.

Troubled Tim contacts a former paramour, now a Federal prosecutor, to help him unravel the unseemly entanglements that occur behind the bench. But in doing so, risks his own status as a judge, his good name, and perhaps even the lives of him and his family-it is sometimes deadly to disagree when The Majority Rules.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Sullivan's straightforward political thriller, the first of a new series, lawyer Tim Quinn finds himself dropped into a maelstrom of betrayal, conspiracy and murder. Soon after Quinn is named to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., with the assistance of his longtime colleague Harry Winston (the court's chief justice), Quinn discovers that Winston and some of his fellow judges have been fixing the cases on which they rule. To bring the miscreants to justice, he must enlist the aid of federal prosecutor Vicky Hauser, with whom he had a past relationship that ended badly. When Quinn begins to see that Winston's schemes involve far more than simple bribery, he realizes that not merely his career but his very life may be at risk. The author, a retired federal judge who served as a White House lawyer and general counsel for the U.S. Air Force, knows his material; the background information is fascinating yet never overwhelms the narrative. Despite the book's by-the-numbers feel, Sullivan creates characters interesting enough to hold readers' attention, and he keeps things moving fast enough so that many won't notice (or mind) some unlikely plot twists. Agent, Frank Weiman of the Literary Group.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Judge Gene Sullivan knows his stuff and it shows in this intricate but fast-paaced Washington thriller." -- Evan Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Robert Kennedy: His Life

"This one's a page-turner! Sullivan's command of his subjects is masterful and hhis storytelling is excellent..." -- Joseph L. Galloway, bestselling co-author We Were Soldiers Once...and Young --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• ISBN-10: 0765311410
• ASIN: B000H2N30K
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #784,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Power Packed Drama, January 6, 2005

By 

Richard J. Mcgowan (Wicomico, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Majority Rules (Hardcover)

Former Federal Judge Eugene Sullivan has written a power-packed drama about the judicial system that is more than just another political thriller.

The Majority Rules is a gripping and intelligent tale about the inner workings and machinations of the black-robed men and women who are charged with upholding the law but sometimes fall prey to venal and political corruption in the nation's capital.. This exceptional debut novel moves non-stop from the highly-charged death of a sitting federal judge to the appointment of Tim Quinn as his replacement.

Quinn is likely to become America's newest literary icon - flawed, but not too much; just a touch more realistic than idealistic; tough but vulnerable. Quinn cannot believe his good fortune when he is suddenly wooed and appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He is welcomed on-board by his friend and patron, the chief judge, who promises Quinn future greatness for a rare, occasional favor.

Quinn is overawed at first with his new position, but soon learns that the ethics of some of his colleagues on the bench can be bought for money and other temptations. He quickly finds himself caught in a web of deceit, conspiracy and murder.

With charges and counter-charges soon to fly in the U.S. Senate over President Bush's judicial nominations, Judge Sullivan has written a timely and taut, insightful and compelling tale that ought to interest anyone interested in the good and the bad within our judicial system. It is an authentic, suspenseful -- and frightening.

Sullivan was nominated as a federal judge by President Reagan and spent the next 16 years as a federal court judge.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Washington's New Hero, March 3, 2005

By 

T. C. Roberts (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Majority Rules (Hardcover)

Step aside Jack Ryan. Mystery novel devotees have a new hero on the Washington scene. Tim Quinn - West Point graduate; former Army Ranger and Vietnam vet; past General Council of one of the nation's super-secret spy agencies, and partner in a successful D.C. law firm - is introduced to us in The Majority Rules, a first novel by Judge Eugene Sullivan, whose resume closely parallels that of the character he has created.

An important, but secondary, player in the Washington power structure, Quinn enters the main stream when he is appointed to the second highest court in the land, the U.S. Court of Appeals, following the untimely and unseemly death of one of its sitting members. The new judge soon discovers, purely by accident, that his predecessor's death and the strange workings of the Court and its Chief Judge may be closely related. This discovery quickly embroils Quinn in a dark world of money, power and corruption, a world where the rule of majority may represent only the interests of an elite few. Simultaneously impelled and haunted by the youthful trials which shaped the man, Judge Quinn struggles to expose a deadly conspiracy, even as he fights to protect his reputation, his family and, perhaps, his own life.

When it comes to the Judicial Branch of government and the Washington power game, Judge Sullivan knows his subjects well. The same certainly can be said of his knowledge of those principals, personal traits and scars, whether visible or invisible, which mark graduates of the Military Academy and many veterans of the Vietnam War. Add this intimate knowledge to a well-constructed plot, a fast-paced narrative, an imaginative tale, and you have an impressive beginning for Judge Sullivan's latest career.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Inside Washington Thriller, August 28, 2005

By 

James J. Brown (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Majority Rules (Hardcover)

Judge Gene Sullivan writes a thriller with the knowledge and insider information only a Federal Judge could know and write about. His novel, "Majority Rules", takes you inside the politics, the law firms, the Courtrooms and the Georgetown dinners, like only one experienced in such adventures can. As someone who spent twenty years practicing law in the Washington, DC area, and a Federal Judge, myself, I have read Judge Sullivan's novel and see the story come to life in real time and real events that could happen in the political climate along the Potomac. Chief Judge Harry Winston of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is the slickest, highly placed villain to enrich a novel's pages in my experience of reading mysteries. Sullivan writes him as a believable character and as a twisted, manipulative Judge. Tim Quinn, as a lawyer and a new Judge on Harry Winston's court, has the backbone and ethics to take on Harry Winston and his corruption. With the help of his former lover and Justice Department lawyer, Vicky Hauser, Quinn and Hauser attack this corruption in one of the highest courts in the land. It is a mystery with many unexpected subplots and surprises. It is fast paced and well written. I recommend this book as an excellent adventure in behind the scenes courtroom capers.