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Jeffrey Toobin Helps Celebrate 75 Years of the Brooklyn Law Review

On April 15, the Law School celebrated 75 years of the Brooklyn Law Review with a dinner held at the Forchelli Center at Feil Hall and a captivating speech by Jeffrey Toobin, senior legal analyst for CNN and staff writer at The New Yorker. Toobin was welcomed by nearly 200 Law Review alumni and current Law Review students from as far away as Miami and Montreal.

Toobin, who is no stranger to the demands of being on Law Review (he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review), spoke about his latest book, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court (2007), which he explained was inspired by The Brethren, by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong. He discussed the Rehnquist Court, and the up and coming vacancy on the Supreme Court created by Justice Stephens’ retirement. He also shared some candid moments from The Nine’s reporting process.

One amusing story he shared concerned Justice Souter and Justice Breyer, who are often mistaken for one another. “When Justice Souter was driving to his house in New England, he stopped for a bite to eat along the way and was approached by a diner who said, ‘You’re Justice Breyer, right?’ Not wanting to embarrass the gentleman, Justice Souter said, ‘Yes, I am.” The diner asked, ‘What is the greatest honor of serving on the Court?’ After a moment, Justice Souter replied, ‘I guess I would have to say it is the privilege of being able to serve with Justice Souter’.”

Toobin also talked about his experience writing Too Close to Call: The 36-Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election, and his many attempts to interview Al Gore for the book. Years later, when the two would meet on a different occasion, Toobin approached Gore to interview him for The Nine. Toobin recalled his conversation with the former Vice President: “I said, ‘I can’t get over it. I may be the biggest Bush v. Gore junkie.’ Vice President Gore replied, ‘You may be the second.’”

While Toobin was certainly the evening’s celebrity draw, BLS alumni were also very excited to return to the Law School, to reconnect with old classmates and teachers, and share memories of their time on Law Review.

“I remember Law Review as being a cohesive, interesting and talented group of students--and a LOT of hard work,” said Janet Ginzberg, Senior Staff Attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, who made the trip to Brooklyn for the Law Review celebration. “The event was beautifully done. Jeffrey Toobin was an excellent speaker, the food was great, and Feil Hall, which didn't exist when I was at BLS, is a wonderful space for events. I was impressed by how many professors and former students came to celebrate their time at BLS.”

To view the full article click here. And to watch a video of Toobin's speech click here.

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Jeffrey Toobin: CNN Legal Analyst Lectures in Syracuse

These are busy times for Jeffrey Toobin, the nation's most visible U.S. Supreme Court reporter.


The author, journalist and CNN legal analyst has been pressed into service more than usual since Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement last month.

Toobin comes to Syracuse Tuesday to speak at the Rosamond Gifford Lecture Series. His most recent book, the best-seller, "The Nine," in 2007, was a detailed look behind the rarely pierced veil of the Supreme Court. It's an ensemble profile of the court set against the backdrop of the court's major rulings.

"The Nine" was Toobin's fifth book. He has also written about Oliver North, O.J. Simpson, the Clinton sex scandal and the presidential recount in the 2000. The Bush v. Gore case that ultimately decided the election is also explored in "The Nine."


Toobin won an Emmy award in 2001 for coverage of the Elian Gonzalez custody dispute in Florida. He has written for The New Yorker magazine since 1993. Before becoming a journalist, Toobin served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Brooklyn and as associate counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh.

Post-Standard staff writer Glenn Coin interviewed Toobin in late April, just days after the Stevens announcement. Despite his reluctance to predict because he hates to be wrong, he did correctly predict that President Obama would name Solicitor General Elana Kagan to replace Stevens.

To view the interview and complete article, please click here.


All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Journalist Jeffrey Toobin to speak at William Jewell College

Jeffrey Toobin, a staff writer at The New Yorker and the senior legal analyst for CNN, will offer a free public lecture at 7 p.m. May 27 in John Gano Memorial Chapel on the William Jewell College campus in Liberty, Mo. The public is invited to attend; tickets or reservations are not required.

Toobin is one of the most recognized and admired legal journalists in the country. His most recent book, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, was published in the fall of 2007. The book spent more than four months on the New York Times best-seller list and was named one of the ten best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review, Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Entertainment Weekly and the Economist. The Nine also received the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize for Non-fiction and the Silver Gavel Award of the American Bar Association.

Toobin joined CNN in 2002 after six years with ABC News. In 2000, he received an Emmy Award for his coverage of the Elian Gonzalez case. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Guests may greet Toobin at a reception and book signing in Yates-Gill College Union immediately following the lecture. Toobin will be on the William Jewell campus as part of a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Truman Scholars Leadership Week, held annually on the campus in Liberty. Truman Scholars from across the country gather to discuss leadership and personal development issues. The prestigious Truman Scholarship is awarded each year to college students seeking careers in public service. Toobin was a Truman Scholar recipient in 1980.

For full article, please click here.

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Out of the Box - 10/07/09

Ali Velshi was recently back on Mediaite Office Hours talking about the olympics, the economy, heath care and his October 10th wedding.

Rick Sanchez is mentioned in Motor Trend Magazine. His current vehicles: a 2006 Mercedes -Benz E350 and a 2007 Dodge Ram.

Roland Martin will be the keynote speaker at the "Political Minds in Action" event in Savannah, GA held by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority on Saturday October 10th at noon.

Roland Martin also has an article in Houston Style Magazine about the White House's stance on NY Governor Paterson running for another term.

Jeffrey Toobin will be speaking on 10/8 at an event for The Brown University Taubman Center for Public Policy's 25th anniversary.

Better Late Than Never:

Nicole Lapin attended Operation Smile's 8th Annual Smile Gala on 10/4. Click the picture for a larger image. Thanks to Phebe for passing this along.

Starpulse.com has posted some pictures of Soledad O'Brien arriving at the ALMA awards on 9/17. Click here for additional pictures.

Soledad also was the keynote speaker for "Something to Chair-ish" hosted by the Methodist Hospital Volunteers in Partnership on 10/2. Her new book, Latino in America, also came out on 10/6.

Reza Aslan was at the West Hollywood Book Fair on 10/4.

On Tuesday, 9/29, Campbell Brown attended a luncheon held for former Secretary of State Madeline Albright in honor of her new book Read My Pins: Stories From A Diplomat's Jewel Box

Wolf Blitzer emceed a gala held by the American Kidney Fund called The Hope Affair on 10/6 at the Newseum.

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Out of the Box

Ed Henry:Senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry, will serve as the opening keynote for FOSE 2009 on March 10 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. FOSE is the largest trade show for government technology professionals.

Suzanne Mulveaux:
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN White House correspondent, will join Columbia students for a discussion on leadership March 5th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Morningside Campus Teatro.

Anderson Cooper:
Anderson Cooper will discuss “A 360-Degree Look at World Events” at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY on Thursday, March 19th at 3 p.m. in John Cranford Adams Playhouse, South Campus.

While this isn't exactly 'out of the box' it is out of the CNN box:
Sunday's "60 Minutes" was the 6th most-watched TV show last week, according to Nielsen. Anderson Cooper's report on the Mexican drug cartels was featured on the broadcast.

Jeffery Toobin:There has been no official announcement, but congratulations may be in order for CNN's legal eagle Jeff Toobin. It has been reported on several sites that Toobin has married Casey Greenfield. Her father, Jeff Greenfield of CBS News is a former CNN colleague of Toobins. To read more follow here and here.
*UPDATE: Toobin has updated his Facebook page this morning to say that he is married (previously his marital status was left blank). Not sure if that means he's still married to Amy, his wife of 22 years, or has married Casey. If any official statements are released we will post them.

John Roberts:
While we're on the subject of marriage we're hearing that John Roberts is a single man again. He implied that he was looking for love on American Morning on Tuesday. Take a look:

As always much thanks to Julie for her research and Cyn for the clip. Have a great week everyone and hope to see you back here soon! ~Phebe



All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Keeping Up With Jeffery Toobin

It's been a while since we took some time to catch up with CNN's Jeffery Toobin. We have come across a few new public appearances on the Toobin schedule as well as an interview that is new to us at ATC.


First, for those of you who haven't read Toobin's recent 'The Nine' it was
released in paperback recently. As most of you know Toobin is a staff writer for The New Yorker as well as being our favorite legal analyst for CNN. He has also authored other best sellers Too Close to Call: The Thirty-Six Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election, A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal that Nearly Brought Down a President, and The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson.





Tickets went on sale today for The New Yorker Festival. Mr. Toobin is moderating a discussion that has me salivating. If I lived anywhere near NYC I'd be in the audience for this one. The topic is If I Were Running This Campaign and the panel will consist of Donna Brazile, Alex Castellanos, Edward J. Rollins, and Joe Trippi. Cost for the Saturday, October 4th event (at 10AM) is $25. Call 800-440-6974 or visit http://festival.newyorker.com/ticket_info.cfm.

On October 22nd Toobin will be appearing with Andy Borowitz and Joy Behar at NYC's 92nd Street Y for an irreverent look at the upcoming presidential election. Again I'm envious of those who live in the vicinity....I would looooove to be at this one also. Tickets are $35 and available here.

On July 7th this year Toobin spoke before the Chautauqua Institution at the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown, NY. The video of the speech and q & a session is just about an hour long and is an extremely interesting, funny and an insightful look at our judicial system, specifically the Supreme Court.

Thanks to BA for the inspiration and research that made my job filling in for Sapphire so easy. Ms. Sapphire had a death in her family and is taking a little time off. Our thoughts and love are with her and we look forward to her return soon.
~Phebe



All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Better Than Sex?

Did my title today grab your attention? How about if I told you that I've got video of CNN weatherman Rob Marciano saying, "Oh baby come home with me, just for one night, just for one night"? Sit back and enjoy!

If fast cars and handsome weathermen don't translate to better than sex maybe a smart man talking food is more your cup of tea? Here's CNN's Jeffery Toobin, guest anchoring the Leonard Lopate Show, talking hamburgers.

The program was taped at the WNYC studio in New York City. Participates George Motz (red shirt) and Josh Ozersky poised with Jeff Toobin to commemorate the day.

So now that we've got you all hot and bothered about sex let's have a little fun. DC Fishbowl runs a poll every summer asking for readers to nominate hot, sexy news people, based in Washington. We're going to borrow the idea, and determine the hottest CNN on-air personalities. Submit your nominations by email (allthingscnn@gmail) or in comments and next week we'll share the results and the voting will begin.

To all of you readers who have been sending us requests for more TJ, Frerick or screengrabs of Kiran's legs, this is your time to go to bat for your fav. Send in those nominations and have fun with it!

The categories for All Things CNN's first annual 'CNN Hotties' contest are:

Hottest CNN Male Anchor *

Hottest CNN Female Anchor *

Hottest CNN Male Reporter

Hottest CNN Female Reporter

*For the purposes of this poll anchors are defined as those who have their own regularly scheduled programs. If you're not sure what category your favorite belongs in just send the name and we'll do the rest. Have a great week! ~Phebe

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

CNN Book Reviews

Over the past month or so several CNN regulars have released books to mostly great reviews. Here's a compilation of some of them...





Jeff Toobin's book "The Nine" -

From Publishers Weekly:

It's not laws or constitutional theory that rule the High Court, argues this absorbing group profile, but quirky men and women guided by political intuition. New Yorker legal writer Toobin (The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson) surveys the Court from the Reagan administration onward, as the justices wrestled with abortion, affirmative action, the death penalty, gay rights and church-state separation. Despite a Court dominated by Republican appointees, Toobin paints not a conservative revolution but a period of intractable moderation. The real power, he argues, belonged to supreme swing-voter Sandra Day O'Connor, who decided important cases with what Toobin sees as an almost primal attunement to a middle-of-the-road public consensus. By contrast, he contends, conservative justices Rehnquist and Scalia ended up bitter old men, their rigorous constitutional doctrines made irrelevant by the moderates' compromises. The author deftly distills the issues and enlivens his narrative of the Court's internal wranglings with sharp thumbnail sketches (Anthony Kennedy the vain bloviator, David Souter the Thoreauvian ascetic) and editorials (inept and unsavory is his verdict on the Court's intervention in the 2000 election). His savvy account puts the supposedly cloistered Court right in the thick of American life. (A final chapter and epilogue on the 2006–2007 term, with new justices Roberts and Alito, was unavailable to PW.) (Sept. 18) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Click here for a video of Jeff talking about the book. (Amazon.com)

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Jack Cafferty's book is "It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America "

Reviews are here.

Click here for a video of Jack talking about the book. (Amazon.com)

Also to preview the first chapter of his book, click here.

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta's Book "Chasing Life"

Find some reviews for his book here and from Publisher's Weekly:

From Publishers WeeklyReaders seeking the key to everlasting life will find some clues in neurosurgeon Gupta's survey of the latest research on longevity. Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, touches on recent breakthroughs as he offers some basic guidelines for adding years to what he and other aging experts call "health span." The goal, Gupta says, is not merely to live longer. To help readers live longer and better, he boils down conflicting health advice and makes some surprising prescriptions. For example, it is not what you eat, but how much you eat that affects longevity; vitamin supplements may be a waste of time and money; and a little upper-body strengthening is far more effective than an hour on a StairMaster. To support this advice, Gupta relates the experiences of a 103-year-old woman from Okinawa; a former executive who began training at age 86 and is a record-breaking sprinter at age 92; and others who are aging well by staying active, eating wisely, being positive and maintaining strong social networks. While stem cell injections, nanotechnology, cryonics and other possible therapies are on the horizon, Gupta tells readers that extending life today is as easy as eating less, moving more and exercising the brain. While Gupta's mix of futuristic science and do-it-yourself advice is far from seamless, many readers will find the lessons in his tales of the long lived worthwhile. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Amanpour interviews Iran’s Ahmadinejad

Good evening everyone! It's certainly been a tense day on the Columbia University campus in New York City. Students, teachers, administrators and just about anyone on the streets of NYC had an opinion about Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the prestigious Ivy League university. Quite frankly, I believe that we live in the land of free speech and that any head of state should be able to speak at Columbia University but apparently mine is not a popular opinion. And in light of the sound bites we've heard tonight on Out In The Open and AC360, Ahmadinejad was his own worst enemy.

Today, CNN announced that Christiane Amanpour will sit down with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday. Here is an excerpt from the press release from Turner Pressroom (click title for full text):

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Secures Interview with Iran’s Ahmadinejad
Network to Air Full Interview on Anderson Cooper 360° on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 10 p.m. (ET)

CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour conducts an extensive interview with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday, Sept. 26, after the embattled leader finishes a tour of New York City that includes an address to the U.N. General Assembly, a videoconference with the National Press Club and an event before 600 students and faculty at Columbia University.

Parts of the interview will air throughout the day on both CNN/U.S. and CNN International with the full interview airing that evening during Anderson Cooper 360° at 10 p.m. (ET) Amanpour will provide live reports and analysis throughout the day.

Amanpour’s interview with Ahmadinejad marks her second with the Iranian president. She first interviewed him in September 2005 just hours before he addressed delegates at the U.N. General Assembly claiming Iran has a right to pursue nuclear power.

As the network’s chief international correspondent, Amanpour has not only reported on most crises from many of the world’s hotspots, including Afghanistan, the Balkans, Iran, Iraq, the Middle East, Pakistan and Somalia but has interviewed many of the world’s most important leaders. Such assignments have included exclusive interviews with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Pakistan’s Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Jordan’s King Abdullah and King Hussein, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Russia’s Mikhail Gorbachev.

Ms. Amanpour is my idol so I will definitely be looking forward to that interview!

Jeffrey Toobin has been making the talk-show rounds publicising his much-praised new book, The Nine which is on my short list of must-reads! I came across a radio interview Jeffrey did on Friday, September 21st with Leonard Lopate on NPR. You can listen to the interview here:




And last but not least, now that I'm up early to put my little girl on the bus for Kindergarten, I get a chance to catch a bit of American Morning with John Roberts and Kiran Chetry. I have to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed watching John Roberts squirm during Elizabeth Cohen's Who's Hot To You segment at the end of the program. I'm not sure exactly how to describe the following clip but it's simply priceless! Poor JR! You can't really see his face but I'm sure he's three shades of red! Way to go, ladies! And I'd like to thank Cyn for the clip!



Well, that's all I have for now! I hope you have a wonderful day. ~Sheryn

Upcoming Book Signings :)

With the release of his newest book, “The Nine” CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin is about to embark on a book signing tour that is a whirlwind across the United States. Jeffrey will be making stops from New York to Los Angeles and many cities in between over the next few months. Check out the CNN Calendar of Events for the upcoming dates and cities Jeffrey will be visiting. Just click on a date and the information about the event will appear. Jeffrey’s first signing is also an interview conducted by Anderson Cooper. Jeffrey Toobin is CNN's Senior Legal Analysis and is a regular contributor to Anderson Cooper 360 as well as many of the other CNN show.

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Speaking of Book Signings, Jack Cafferty of the Cafferty File on The Situation Room will be having a book signing on September 24th in New York City for his new book "It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America". Information for this book signing is also up on the CNN Calendar of Events.

If anyone get a chance to check our Jeffrey or Jack at a Book Signing, we would love to hear your encounter stories and see your pics. You can email us at allthingscnn@hotmail.com

Jeffery Toobin's Newest Tome

Jeffery Toobin's newest book, The Nine hits your favorite bookstore today. Here's a book synopsis and a few of the early reviews and some info on JT's other writings.

"Bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin takes you into the chambers of the most important—and secret—legal body in our country, the Supreme Court, and reveals the complex dynamic among the nine people who decide the law of the land.Just in time for the 2008 presidential election—where the future of the Court will be at stake—Toobin reveals an institution at a moment of transition, when decades of conservative disgust with the Court have finally produced a conservative majority, with major changes in store on such issues as abortion, civil rights, presidential power, and church-state relations.Based on exclusive interviews with justices themselves, The Nine tells the story of the Court through personalities—from Anthony Kennedy's overwhelming sense of self-importance to Clarence Thomas's well-tended grievances against his critics to David Souter's odd nineteenth-century lifestyle. There is also, for the first time, the full behind-the-scenes story of Bush v. Gore—and Sandra Day O'Connor's fateful breach with George W. Bush, the president she helped place in office. The Nine is the book bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin was born to write." ~Amazon book description

"A major achievement, lucid and probing." ~ Bob Woodward, co-author of The Brethren

"This is a remarkable, riveting book. So great are Toobin's narrative skills that both the justices and their inner world are brought vividly to life." ~ Doris Kearns Goodwin

"It's not laws or constitutional theory that rule the High Court, argues this absorbing group profile, but quirky men and women guided by political intuition. New Yorker legal writer Toobin (The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson) surveys the Court from the Reagan administration onward, as the justices wrestled with abortion, affirmative action, the death penalty, gay rights and church-state separation. Despite a Court dominated by Republican appointees, Toobin paints not a conservative revolution but a period of intractable moderation. The real power, he argues, belonged to supreme swing-voter Sandra Day O'Connor, who decided important cases with what Toobin sees as an almost primal attunement to a middle-of-the-road public consensus. By contrast, he contends, conservative justices Rehnquist and Scalia ended up bitter old men, their rigorous constitutional doctrines made irrelevant by the moderates' compromises. The author deftly distills the issues and enlivens his narrative of the Court's internal wranglings with sharp thumbnail sketches (Anthony Kennedy the vain bloviator, David Souter the Thoreauvian ascetic) and editorials (inept and unsavory is his verdict on the Court's intervention in the 2000 election). His savvy account puts the supposedly cloistered Court right in the thick of American life." ~ Publisher's Weekly

To purchase this book or to read more reviews just follow the link.

Did you know....

Jeffery Toobin served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Brooklyn?

He also served as an associate counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh?

Toobin earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard College and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review?

Toobin remains a staff writer at The New Yorker where he has been covering legal affairs for the magazine since 1993? (information obtained from Jeffery Toobin's CNN bio)

Other Jeffery Toobin books:

A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal that Nearly Brought Down a President

The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson

Too Close to Call: The 36-Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election.