Jeffrey Toobin

A high-profile senior analyst for CNN and staff writer for The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin is one of the country’s most esteemed experts on politics, media and the law.

With unparalleled journalistic skill, Toobin has provided analysis on some of the most provocative and important events of our time, including the O.J. Simpson trial, the Kenneth Starr investigation and impeachment of President Bill Clinton, and the disputed Florida recount of the 2000 presidential election. One of the closest watchers of the 2006 Martha Stewart trial, his accounts of the case for CNN and The New Yorker were among the most wellbalanced and thorough.

The author of critically acclaimed New York Times best sellers, Toobin’s 2007 book The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, delves into the historical, political and personal inner workings of the Supreme Court and its justices to reveal the inside story of one of America’s most mysterious and powerful institutions. Toobin’s renowned bestseller Too Close to Call: The 36-Day Battle to Decide the
2000 Election is the definitive story of the Bush- Gore presidential recount. Too Close to Call is, like his other books, packed with news-making disclosures and written with the drive of a legal thriller. With clarity, insight, humor and a deep understanding of the law, Toobin deconstructs the events, the players and the often-Byzantine intricacies of our judicial system, ending up with a remarkable account of one of the most significant periods in our nation’s history.

At the podium, Toobin is an unbiased, deeply analytic expert on all matters of American law, politics and procedure. Focused on the intersection of law and politics, Toobin provides a unique look into the inner workings of The Supreme Court and its influence, as well as how upcoming elections will shape the court and, in turn, the nation. Also the perfect moderator for a panel, his relaxed style, sense of humor and unprejudiced, forthright analysis make for a fascinating presentation.

Toobin received 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.

After a six-year tenure at ABC News, where he covered the country’s highest-profile cases and received a 2000 Emmy Award for his coverage of the Elian Gonzales custody saga, Toobin joined CNN as a legal analyst for the CNN News Group in 2002 where he now serves as senior analyst. Also a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1993, he has written articles on such subjects as Former Attorney General John
Ashcroft, the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and the trial of Timothy McVeigh. His article “An Incendiary Defense” for the magazine broke the news that the O.J. Simpson defense team planned to accuse Mark Fuhrman of planting evidence and to play “the race card.”

Prior to joining The New Yorker, Toobin served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Brooklyn, New York. He also served as an associate counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, an experience that provided the basis for his first book, Opening Arguments: A Young Lawyer’s First Case: United States v. Oliver North. His other books also take a behind the scenes look at the legal system: A Vast Conspiracy examines the methods of independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s team and the legal proceeding of the Clinton impeachment trial; and The Run of His Life closely examines the workings of the criminal justice system in the O.J. Simpson trial. Toobin lives in New York City with his wife and
two children.