The Districts
Stories of American Justice from the Federal Courts
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Johnny Dwyer examines the New York crimes we’ve seen in the news, in movies, and on television—drug trafficking, organized crime, terrorism, corruption, and white-collar crime—while weaving in the nuances that rarely make it into headlines.
“Told in the kind of pointillist detail that can only come from years of hanging around the courthouse and doing old-school shoe-leather reporting.” —Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing
The Rosenbergs, Rudy Giuliani, Bernie Madoff, James Comey, John Gotti, Preet Bharara, and El Chapo are just a few of the figures to have appeared before the courts in the Southern and Eastern District of New York—the two federal courts tasked with maintaining order in New York City. These two epicenters of power in our justice system have become proving grounds for ambitious prosecutors who turn their service in government into power, position, and, in some cases, celebrity. These attorneys don’t hope for victory in court; they expect it.
In The Districts, Johnny Dwyer takes us not just into the courtrooms but also into the lives of the judges and defendants, prosecutors and defense counsels, and winners and losers who people the courts.
An unprecedented look at New York City’s federal court system that exposes the incentives driving how America chooses to punish crime—and what those choices reveal about our politics and our society—The Districts paints a revelatory picture of how our justice system, and the pursuit of justice, really works.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Dwyer (American Warlord) delivers a character-driven examination of New York City's federal courts and the prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and jurors who make them run. His case studies, which are organized around the five "major categories of crime" (organized crime, drug trafficking, financial fraud, terrorism, and public corruption) prosecuted in Manhattan's Southern District and Brooklyn's Eastern District, mention such high-profile investigations as that of New York State assemblyman Sheldon Silver, who was convicted in 2018 on corruption charges, and Trump "fixer" Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to multiple crimes the same year. For the most part, however, Dwyer features defendants who aren't household names. Among the most illuminating cases are those of Chevelle Nesbeth, an accused drug courier, and Imran Rabbani, a 17-year-old charged with attempting to support the Islamic State. Both trials hinge on legal nuances and showcase federal prosecutors and judges grappling with a defendant's past, present, and potential future when making charging and sentencing decisions. Along the way, Dwyer also skillfully explains complex federal statutes, such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and traces shifting definitions of what constitutes criminal conduct in insider trading cases. Ultimately, he leaves it up to readers to decide whether justice is being served, but his balanced, sympathetic account demystifies and humanizes the criminal justice system.
