Opening Arguments: A Young Lawyer's First Case: United States v. Oliver North [Hardcover]

Jeffrey Toobin (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (February 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670837032
• ISBN-13: 978-0670837038
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #34 in Books > Law > Perspectives on Law > Judicial System
  • #97 in Books > Law > One-L > Civil Procedure

More About the Author

Before becoming a staff writer at The New Yorker in 1993, Jeffrey Toobin served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Brooklyn and as an Associate Counsel in the office of Independent Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh--which provided material for his book Opening Arguments: A Young Lawyers First Case--United States v. Oliver North. A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars hoist on his own petard ?, November 21, 2000

By 

Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Opening Arguments: A Young Lawyer's First Case: United Statues v. Oliver North (Mass Market Paperback)

Those who are decrying the methods & motives of Ken Starr would do well to read this insider's account of the IranContra case by the New Yorker's legal writer.

Among the familiar elements of the story are politically motivated prosecutions (Toobin wanted to join Judge Walsh's staff because he disagreed with Reagan's Central America policy), press leaks (by Toobin himself) & relatively minor charges (lying to Congress, obstruction, etc.)

What distinguishes the story of IranContra from Whitewater is the absence of political attacks on the special prosecutor by the White House. In fact, at one point Reagan makes a special appointment of Walsh when North challenges the constitutionality of a special prosecutor appointed by Congressional statute.

These days, in the pages of the New Yorker, Toobin attacks everything from sexual harassment law itself to degradation of privacy rights in his effort to delegitimize the Starr investigation. One wonders if he's forgotten the personal experiences that he defly portrays here.

GRADE: C+

2 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is not interesting., January 2, 2007

By 

WPSALC - See all my reviews

This review is from: Opening Arguments (Hardcover)

This book is all about the author and the minor position he held in a historic event and little about the historic event. His bias is unmistakable and the book unremarkable and not well written.

He (or his editor) used the incorrect word for a juror challenge on page 211, line 24 (preemptory instead of peremptory), a 1st year law student knows better. If someone will pay shipping I will send the book before I toss it in the trash but it is not worth the time I spent to read it.