The Last Justice (37 page)

Not'she screamed, running to him. Something tripped her, and she only barely managed to keep her feet. She looked down into the blank, unseeing gaze of Ivan Petrov. Just above one of those steely blue eyes, a small round hole leaked a thread of blood onto the freshly cut grass.

"I'm okay,"Assad said. He was holding his arm, and blood showed between his knuckles. Milstein began to cry and held him, kissing him and brushing the hair out of his face, not caring who saw her.

This book is the result of a lot of late nights and weekends, but more so, the unwavering encouragement of my beautiful wife, Tracy, who has supported me in everything I've done since I was sixteen years old. I also must thank my children, Jake, Emma, and Aiden. It never ceases to amaze me how daily aggravations fall away when I am with them. As they insisted, I included their names in the novel. I did so not because their namesakes bear any resemblance, but because my memories of the years writing this book also are filled with memories of them as young children-a time I never want to forget.

This novel would remain half-finished in a desk drawer were it not for numerous friends and colleagues. Longtime friend, Sheila Scheuerman, could always be counted on to say what she liked and didn't like about the book, often not in that order. Debbie Carpenter, another valued friend and one of the best colleagues one could ever hope for, also provided endless support. Reeves Anderson, Brooke Anderson, Elizabeth Cavanaugh, Rebecca Nassab, and Mara Senn, all great lawyers and friends, gave insightful comments on the manuscript. And the brilliant Dan Barnhizer always could be counted on for a good laugh and sage advice.

Many others also took time out of their busy lives to assist in my effort to try and bring to life the inner worlds of the Supreme Court, the White House, the Justice Department, and Capitol Hill. I thank Brian Hook for our lunches at the White House mess and Michael Sozan for shining a light on the Hill. And many thanks to Lisa Zeidner Marcus and other former law clerks who gave me a glimmer into the insular universe of the judicial law clerk. None of them ever worked for the likes of Judge Petrov, but their general insights about the life of a clerk and procedures proved remarkably helpful. To these individuals, and others, who took time from the serious business of their positions to help add a ring of authenticity to a story that admittedly takes a leap of the imagination, I thank you. All errors and the many embellishments are mine alone.

I am also grateful to my law firm, which has allowed me to work with the best legal talent in the world in an atmosphere of individualism and creativity. In the midst of a busy law practice, it was a challenge to find the time to write, but motivation could always be found in the extraordinary accomplishments of my firm colleagues who are examples of how to pursue outside interests while providing the best representation around.

the listwould notbe complete without thanking RachelTrusheim, Amy Parker, Ashley Cadwell, Casey Fischer, Lauren Fontaine, Tyler Hickey, and the Sterling & Ross team for their professionalism and enthusiasm, and for making The Last Justice the best it could be.

Finally, special thanks go to my family, including my doting sisters, Laura Roske and Andrea Williams and their families; Charles and Juli Franze; Paul, Trish, Jay, Golda, and all the Adairs; Ron Caller; and Stuart and Louise Caller. But most of all, I thank my mom for always believing in me. This novel is dedicated to her memory.

In conducting the research for this novel, I reviewed several exceptional works. I found Rebecca Mae Salokar's, The Solicitor General: The Politics of Law (Temple Univ. Press, 1992) to be a key source on the rarely examined SG's office. For questions on Supreme Court procedure, I turned to Stern & Gressman, the Supreme Court practitioners' "Bible," Eugene Gressman et al., Supreme Court Practice (BNA Books 9th ed., 2007). The late Chief Justice Rehnquist's book, The Supreme Court (Vintage Books, 2001), also provided valuable information on the high court from someone who was there.

On the politics of judicial appointments and the confirmation process I found two scholarly works particularly enlightening: Lee Epstein and Jeffrey A. Segal,Advice and Consent (Oxford Univ. Press, 2005) and Michael Comiskey, Seeking Justices (Univ. Press Kansas, 2004). John Dean's insiders account, The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment That Redefined the Supreme Court (Free Press, 2002), also was fascinating. With regard to law clerks, I turned to Edward Lazarus's somewhat controversial Closed Chambers (Penguin Books, 1998), and the thoughtful Sorcerers' Apprentices (NYU Press, 2006) by Artemus Ward and David L. Weiden.

For high court trivia and interesting facts, David L. Hudson, Jr.'s The Handy Supreme CourtAnswer Book (Visible Ink, 2008) lived up to its name as a handy guide. Other helpful resources on the Supreme Court Building and past and current justices, included Fred J. Maroon & Suzy Maroon, The Supreme Court of the United States (Thomas & Lickle, 1996) and The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789-1993 (Clare Cushman ed. CQ 1993).

I was also fortunate that there have been several very readable recent works on the Supreme Court, including Jeffrey Toobin's The Nine (Doubleday, 2007), Jan Crawford Greenburg's Supreme Conflict (Penguin, 2007), and Jeffrey Rosen's, The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America (Henry Holt, 2006). I also benefited from the press coverage of the Supreme Court and always looked forward to pieces by Robert Barnes, Joan Biskupic, Marcia Coyle, Lyle Denniston, Adam Liptak, and Tony Mauro. I also could not go a day without reviewing SCOTUSblog.

Though these works and sources have little in common with a legal thriller, all provided information and inspiration for the imaginary world created in The Last Justice.