James D. Zirin
James David Zirin is an American lawyer, author, and television talk-show host.
Early life and education
James David Zirin was born in New York City to Morris Zirin, a lawyer and author, and Kate Zirin. He graduated from Princeton University in 1961 and the University of Michigan Law School, where he was an editor of the Michigan Law Review.Career
Government and law work
Zirin was an Assistant [United States Attorney] for three years in Manhattan. He served in the criminal division under Robert M. Morgenthau. Zirin was a partner in the law firm of Breed, Abbott & Morgan in New York before he joined Sidley Austin, a firm focused on transactional and litigation matters, in 1993. In 2003, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg appointed Zirin to the New York City Commission to Combat Police Corruption. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the past chair of its International Law Committee. He is a current trustee of the Asia Society, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.Author and TV host
Zirin is the author of three books, and has written op-ed pieces for publications on legal, political, and foreign policy subjects. His essays have appeared in Forbes, Time, Huffington Post, The Hill, The Nation, New York Daily News, The Washington Post, and Washington Monthly. Zirin hosts Conversations with Jim Zirin, a PBS-syndicated television program. Zirin was interviewed in Where's My Roy Cohn?, a documentary film about American lawyer Roy Cohn directed by Matt Tyrnauer.Philanthropy
Zirin and his wife, Marlene Hess Zirin, donated money toward construction of the Marlene Hess and James D. Zirin Lounge at the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan. He is a member of the Consolidated Corporate Fund Leadership Committee of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.Personal life
In 1990, Zirin married Marlene Hess, daughter of businessman and former New York Jets owner Leon Hess.Works
Supremely Partisan argues that the Supreme Court of the United States is heavily influenced by politicsPlaintiff in Chief: A Portrait of Donald Trump in 3,500 Lawsuits regarding President Trump's use of the justice system''The Mother Court''
The Mother Court: Tales of Cases That Mattered in America's Greatest Trial Court is a non-fiction book by Zirin that was published by the American Bar Association in 2014. The book contains a series of anecdotes about trials, courts, and judges within the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The nickname for this court system is "The Mother Court". The stories and anecdotes are focused on landmark decisions that helped to shape America's laws. It was followed two years later by Zirin's second book, Supremely Partisan.The book received mixed reviews. Mandy Twaddell with The Providence Journal stated, " bolsters confidence in our court system." David J. Dickson in The Journal: of the Law Society of Scotland called it a "...readable and revealing book..."
''Supremely Partisan''
Supremely Partisan: How Raw Politics Tips the Scales in the United States Supreme Court is a non-fiction book by Zirin published by Rowman & Littlefield on September 15, 2016. The book was published two years after The Mother Court. In the book, Zirin argues that the Supreme Court has become dangerously partisan. According to Supreme Court correspondent Dahlia Lithwick, Zirin argues persuasively that "the court is as dangerously partisan as it can be, asserting that it is 'a court of law in many cases, and a political court in many others, with 5–4 decisions laced with ideology, a partisan divide, and diminished public confidence in the court’s legitimacy as the final interpreter of the law of the land'."Liane Jackson from the ABA Journal wrote, "Zirin’s book is particularly timely and thought-provoking, whether or not you agree with his premise." Spectator political columnist Michael Beloff opines, "... uses skills developed both from behind the bar and in front of the camera to mount the charge that the US Supreme Court is a political court."