No Person Above the Law: A Novel Based on the Life of Judge John J. Sirica

As the chief judge of the federal court in Washington D.C. in 1972, John J. Sirica took on the trial of burglars arrested while planting electronic bugs in the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate complex. Who had sent them? The defendants weren’t saying and President Nixon disavowed any knowledge of the conspirators.

Sirica came to the law as the son of an Italian immigrant who lived a hardscrabble life. From these roots, he fought as a boxer while simultaneously going to law school. Practicing law in D.C., he defended criminals and prosecuted them, too. As a judge, he earned the nickname “Maximum John” for the maximum sentences he was apt to deliver.

No Person Above the Law describes how Sirica was determined to see the truth come out during the Watergate scandal, even going toe-to-toe with the White House to order the release of secret tapes. Named “Time Man of the Year,” Judge Sirica held high the central promise of the U.S. Constitution: no person is above the law.

About the Author

Cynthia Cooper is a playwright, journalist, and author. As a former practicing attorney, she often writes on topics of law and justice. Her plays have won several awards and have been produced in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston, Buffalo, Minneapolis, Reno, Montreal, Budapest, Jerusalem, and more, and have been published in sixteen volumes. She has authored or coauthored seven nonfiction books; one, Mockery of Justice, was made into a CBS-TV movie. She lives in New York City.