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Linda Fairstein




Linda Fairstein received a degree in English from Vassar College and graduated with a law degree from the University Of Virginia School Of Law in 1972 . She joined the Manhattan's District Attorney's office in the same year and became Assistant District Attorney. At the time, sex crime work was handled by Leslie Crocker Snyder who founded the sex crime unit in 1974 and had achieved several legal changes that facilitated the prosecution of Rape cases. Fairstein became head of the unit in 1976 after Snyder had left.

Among the high profile cases prosecuted under her leadership:
  • the "preppy murder case" (1986) against Robert Chambers , resulting in his pleading guilty to a lesser charge

  • the " Jogger Rape Case " (1989), resulting in the conviction of five teenager, later vacated

  • People V. Jovanovic (1996), a case of alleged sexual torture after meeting in an Internet chat room; overturned on appeal. Oliver Jovanovic has sued Linda Fairstein, claiming overzealous prosecution.

  • the riot in Central Park after the Puerto Rican Day parade in 2000


After leaving the District Attorney's office in 2002, she focused on her writing, gave lectures, and served as sex crime expert on various TV channels.

Her crime novels are written in the first person with female prosecutor Alex Cooper, modeled on herself, as protagonist. The titles are ''Final Jeopardy'' (1996), ''Likely To Die'' (1997), ''Cold Hit'' (1999), ''The Deadhouse'' (2001), ''The Bone Vault'' (2003), ''The Kills'' (2004) and ''Entombed'' (2005). She also wrote a non-fiction book, ''Sexual Violence: Our War Against Rape'' (1993).


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