Fairfield University's Open VISIONS Forum (OVF) welcomes Jeffrey Toobin, one of the country's most respected and admired legal journalists, to the stage at the Quick Center for the Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. Judge Howard T. Owens will make the introductions and OVF director and moderator Professor Philip Eliasoph joins Justice Joette Katz of the Supreme Court of Connecticut and State Senator William A. Aniskovich in moderating the discussion portion of the evening.

As the 2008 presidential election draws near, control of the Supreme Court is one of the crucial issues facing the electorate as it weighs the elements that will decide its choice for the next President of the United States. The impact on the Court of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement, Chief Justice Rehnquist's passing and the Bush presidency has become increasingly evident. Few people are as qualified to help Americans understand how the Court operates and the huge role it will play in our near future than Jeffrey Toobin.

Toobin is a senior legal analyst for CNN and has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1993. He is also a bestselling author and his latest book, "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court" was published in hardcover in the fall of 2007 and spent more than four months on The New York Times bestseller list.

In "The Nine," Toobin displays a keen sense of the Court's history and his insider's perspective fuses with a skillfully dramatic writing style to reveal the inside story of the Rehnquist years through the first full term of the Roberts Court, which ended with a series of blockbuster opinions in the spring of 2007. The exclusive interviews he conducted with Supreme Court Justices and other intimates provides Toobin with a unique vision of the difficult decision process of such landmark cases as Bush v. Gore and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Robert P. Casey and he presents a compelling look at the power and the politics behind the Supreme Court. Toobin penetrates the façade of one of America's most mysterious and powerful institutions and opens the door to the politics and personalities behind the men and women who adjudicate our most absorbing issues.

"The Nine" was published in paperback last month. It 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.

A new book-club-collaboration between Fairfield University and the Fairfield Public Library - Cliff's Notes - has chosen "The Nine" as its first book. Members of the club are encouraged to attend Toobin's lecture and take advantage of the opportunity to question the author during the question and answer period.

Tickets are $45 and are available online at www.fairfield.edu/openvisions or by calling the Quick Center Box Office at (203) 254-4010. The toll free number is 1-877-ARTS-396.

Posted On: 09-09-2008 10:09 AM

Volume: 41 Number: 44