The Majority Rules

Judge Gene Sullivan writes a thriller with the knowledge and insider information only a Federal Judge could know and write about. His novel, "Majority Rules", takes you inside the politics, the law firms, the Courtrooms and the Georgetown dinners, like only one experienced in such adventures can. As someone who spent twenty years practicing law in the Washington, DC area, and a Federal Judge, myself, I have read Judge Sullivan's novel and see the story come to life in real time and real events that could happen in the political climate along the Potomac. Chief Judge Harry Winston of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is the slickest, highly placed villain to enrich a novel's pages in my experience of reading mysteries. Sullivan writes him as a believable character and as a twisted, manipulative Judge. Tim Quinn, as a lawyer and a new Judge on Harry Winston's court, has the backbone and ethics to take on Harry Winston and his corruption. With the help of his former lover and Justice Department lawyer, Vicky Hauser, Quinn and Hauser attack this corruption in one of the highest courts in the land. It is a mystery with many unexpected subplots and surprises. It is fast paced and well written. I recommend this book as an excellent adventure in behind the scenes courtroom capers.

This is a must read for the afficionado of modern thriller fiction. Once I picked this book up I could not put it down until I had finished it. Judge Sullivan's mystery grabs you from the first page and it continues from there. There is never a let down throughout the entire read. With his first book Judge Sullivan has out-Grisham'd Grisham and out-Clancy'd Clancy. Sullivan's timing in exposing the sordid side of our judicial system could not have been better. Just read the recent headlines. His story would make a great movie in tune with the times. If this is an example of the Judge's skill as a fiction writer, I am hooked, and I cannot wait for his next story. I assume there will be more.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel by Eugene Sullivan, a novel I feel will appeal to women as well as men. I found "The Majority Rules" to be wonderfully engaging, a script which I couldn't put down. I was in the midst of reading an historical novel when I learned of Majority Rules. However, I quickly set that book aside as I became more and more engrossed in Sullivan's theme of murder and intrigue at the pinnacle of government power. While I really "felt part of" the inner workings of this plot, it was "Tim Quinn," the central character, whom I found most drawn to. Quinn is believable; he is not portrayed simply as some one- or even two-dimensional "hard as steel" former West Pointer whose proven combat toughness and gritty approach to enhancing his career won him a seat as one of the nation's highest court's judges. Sullivan presents Quinn with all of the "normal" warts - he was unfaithful to his wife; he is ambitious and fails to act when his good friend and sponsor to the judgeship he seeks, Chief Judge Harold Winston, inadvisedly boasts to him that he (Winston) has a cozy and possibly illegal relationship with the President; he truly agonizes over revealing to his wife Katy his infidelity. Yet as this web of problems develops, Quinn keeps his cool when it matters most: when he is forced to deal with matters of life and death to him and possibly his wife. There were times when I felt Sullivan over-emphasized a point or repeated a theme, as though he were concerned we might not recall circumstances leading to a certain situation. I also wondered at first why Judge Winston would freely reveal to Quinn (whom he knew to be a straight-shooter and very ethical) that Winston had conspired with the President to ensure decisions favoring the President. That seemed a bit incredulous. However, as I read on, I saw that Winston's conceit, his conviction that he was unassailable due to his judicial power plus his need to feed on that power, led to his actions. In all, I was hooked by the very real way Sullivan developed and kept me immersed in his story. I was especially impressed knowing this was Sullivan's first novel. I look forward to the next episode. Robert Read

Judge Sullivan adds credibility to the notion that good writers write what they know. He has incorporated his knowledge and experiences as a West Point graduate, an Army Ranger, a White House lawyer, and the General Counsel of the US Air Force and the NRO into this riveting novel about corruption in the Federal Judicial System. The novel's prologue grabbed me and led me into a page-turning exercise. Indeed, I found the book hard to put down. Judge Sullivan has written a masterful work that resembles a primer on networking at the highest levels of justice and reveals both the benefits and costs of the trap of "go along and get along." Don't miss The Majority Rules, and you will be in on the ground floor of Judge Sullivan's novel writing career that will probably center on his major character, Tim Quinn.

Former Federal Judge Eugene Sullivan has written a power-packed drama about the judicial system that is more than just another political thriller. The Majority Rules is a gripping and intelligent tale about the inner workings and machinations of the black-robed men and women who are charged with upholding the law but sometimes fall prey to venal and political corruption in the nation's capital.. This exceptional debut novel moves non-stop from the highly-charged death of a sitting federal judge to the appointment of Tim Quinn as his replacement. Quinn is likely to become America's newest literary icon - flawed, but not too much; just a touch more realistic than idealistic; tough but vulnerable. Quinn cannot believe his good fortune when he is suddenly wooed and appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He is welcomed on-board by his friend and patron, the chief judge, who promises Quinn future greatness for a rare, occasional favor. Quinn is overawed at first with his new position, but soon learns that the ethics of some of his colleagues on the bench can be bought for money and other temptations. He quickly finds himself caught in a web of deceit, conspiracy and murder. With charges and counter-charges soon to fly in the U.S. Senate over President Bush's judicial nominations, Judge Sullivan has written a timely and taut, insightful and compelling tale that ought to interest anyone interested in the good and the bad within our judicial system. It is an authentic, suspenseful -- and frightening. Sullivan was nominated as a federal judge by President Reagan and spent the next 16 years as a federal court judge.