Linda Fairstein

Infobox Writer


imagesize = 150px
name = Linda Fairstein
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birthdate = |1947
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occupation = Novelist, Former Assistant District Attorney
nationality = American
period = 1996 - present
genre = Crime
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debut_works = Final Jeopardy
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website = http://www.lindafairstein.com
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Linda Fairstein (born 1947) is one of America's foremost legal experts on crimes of violence against women and children. She served as head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002 and is the author of a series of novels featuring Manhattan prosecutor Alexandra Cooper.

Ms. Fairstein is an honors graduate of Vassar College (1969) and the University of Virginia School of Law (1972). She joined the Manhattan District Attorney's office in 1972 as an Assistant District Attorney. She was promoted to the head of the sex crimes unit in 1976. [cite news | first=Katherine | last=Bouton | coauthors= | title=Linda Fairstein vs. Rape | date=1990-02-25 | publisher= | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1DE1739F936A15751C0A966958260 | work =The New York Times Magazine | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-23 | language = ] During her tenure, she prosecuted several highly publicized cases, including the "Preppy Murder" case against Robert Chambers in 1986. Ms. Fairstein's office supervised the prosecution of the Central Park Jogger case in 1989, which ended in the conviction of five teenagers. Their convictions were vacated, and this ruling was upheld by the New York Supreme Court on appeal. cite news |first=Susan |last=Saulny |title=Convictions and Charges Voided In '89 Central Park Jogger Attack |publisher=New York Times |date=2002-12-20 |quote= Thirteen years after an investment banker jogging in Central Park was savagely beaten, raped and left for dead, a Manhattan judge threw out the convictions yesterday of the five young men who had confessed to attacking the woman on a night of violence that stunned the city and the nation. In one final, extraordinary ruling that took about five minutes, Justice Charles J. Tejada of State Supreme Court in Manhattan granted recent motions made by defense lawyers and Robert M. Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, to vacate all convictions against the young men in connection with the jogger attack and a spree of robberies and assaults in the park that night. |accessdate=2008-03-25] [ [http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1039054478324 Central Park Jogger Convictions Vacated] Law.com ] Other controversial cases that her office prosecuted but that later fell apart were those of Patrick Griffin, whose 1996 conviction of oral sodomy on a sedated patient was overturned and who was acquitted in retrial in 2000 after judges ruled that crucial evidence was withheld. [cite news | first=Dorothy | last=Rabinowitz | coauthors= | title=The Doctor's Story | date=2000-05-24 | publisher= | url =http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=90000445 | work =The Wall Street Journal | pages = | accessdate = 2008-08-04 | language = ] Similarly, the 1999 conviction of Oliver Jovanovic for kidnap and sexual torture was also overturned, again on the basis of crucial evidence having been withheld. [cite news | first=Rivka Gewirtz | last=Little | coauthors= | title=Ash-Blond Ambition | date=2002-11-19 | publisher= | url =http://villagevoice.com/2002-11-19/news/ash-blond-ambition | work =The Village Voice | pages = | accessdate = 2008-08-04 | language = ]

Linda Fairstein left the District Attorney's office in 2002, and has continued to consult, write, lecture and serve as a sex crimes expert for a wide variety of print and television media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, and Larry King, among others. Ms. Fairstein is often called to provide her opinion on high profile prosecutions including: Michael Jackson's molestation charges in 2004, [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Michael Jackson Arraigned | date=2004-04-30 | publisher= | url =http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56664-2004Apr30.html | work =The Washington Post | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-23 | language = ] Kobe Bryant's sexual assault charges, [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=American Morning | date=2003-12-19 | publisher=CNN | url =http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0312/19/ltm.03.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-23 | language = ] and Scott Peterson's trial. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=American Morning | date=2003-12-25 | publisher=CNN | url =http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0312/25/ltm.10.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-23 | language = ] She is also a frequent speaker on issues surrounding domestic abuse. [cite news | first=Jennifer | last=Connic | coauthors= | title=2006-10-22 | date=Fairstein Addresses Issues of Domestic Violence | publisher= | url =http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v2/comments/15011/ | work =Westport Now | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-23 | language = ]

Ms. Fairstein is also the internationally best-selling author of a series of crime novels featuring Manhattan prosecutor Alexandra Cooper. The novels draw on Ms. Fairstein's legal expertise [cite news | first=Stuart | last=Jeffries | coauthors= | title=The Rapist Hunter | date=2004-02-27 | publisher= | url =http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1157234,00.html | work =The Guardian | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-23 | language = ] as well as her knowledge of and affection for the rich history of the city of New York.

The titles are:

* "Final Jeopardy" (1996)
* "Likely To Die" (1997)
* "Cold Hit" (1999)
* "The Deadhouse" (2001) (Nero Award winner)
* "The Bone Vault" (2003)
* "The Kills" (2004)
* "Entombed" (2005)
* "Death Dance" (2006)
* "Bad Blood" (2007)
* "Killer Heat" (2008)

She has also written a non-fiction book, "Sexual Violence: Our War Against Rape" (1993).

References

External links

* [http://lindafairstein.com Alex Cooper Crime Novels]