Storming the Court: How a Band of Yale Law Students Sued the President--and Won

by Brandt Goldstein

A tale more riveting than fiction, Storming the Court is the true story of idealistic law students who challenged the United States government in a battle for freedom and human rights that went all the way to the Supreme Court -- and resonates today more than ever. In 1992, three hundred innocent men, women, and children who had qualified for political asylum in the United States were forced into a detention camp at the American naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and told they might never be freed. Storming the Court takes readers inside this modern-day atrocity to tell the tale of Yvonne Pascal -- a young, charismatic activist -- and other Haitian refugees who had fled their violent homeland only to end up prisoners at Guantánamo. They had no lawyers, no contact with the outside world, and no hope...except for a band of students at Yale Law School fifteen hundred miles away. Led by Harold Koh, a gifted but untested law professor, these remarkable twentysomethings waged a legal war against two U.S. presidents to defend the Constitution and the principles symbolized by the Statue of Liberty. It was an education in law unlike any other. With the refugees' lives at stake, the students threw aside classes and career plans to fight an army of government attorneys in a case so politically volatile that the White House itself intervened in the legal strategy. Featuring a real-life cast that includes Kenneth Starr and other top Justice Department officials, U.S. marines, radical human-rights lawyers, and Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Storming the Court follows the students from the classrooms at Yale to the prison camp at Guantánamo to the federal courts in New York and Washington as they struggle to save Yvonne Pascal and her fellow Haitian refugees. At a time when the treatment of post-9/11 Guantánamo detainees has been challenged in the public arena and the courts, this book traces the origins of the legal battle over America's use of the naval base as a prison and illuminates the troubling ways that politics can influence legal decisions. Above all, though, Storming the Court is the David-and-Goliath story of a group of passionate law students who took on their government in the name of the greatest of American freedom.

Genres: Law, Nonfiction, History, Legal

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Joe Rodeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter: the Haitian refugees case and the perennial problem of the USA Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

Sometimes the story just stops moving forward. An unwieldy cast: at least there's a Who's Who in the back of the book. One-sided: unconditional acceptance of boat people by the reader is an assumption. He's cheerleading for the student lawyers. More balanced and disciplined debate and scholarship would have been an improvement. This book has a Movie of the Week quality that just scratches the surface of history and politics.

[Rachel Sergent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book’s subject matter was such an intriguing and important topic. I found myself frustrated to tears many times at the treatment the Haitians endured at Guantanamo Bay and at the sheer unwillingness of the US government to do anything about it. Reading about the student’s determination and work on this case was inspiring, and Im glad I was assigned this book overall.

That being said, the writing left much to be desired in my opinion. Technically, it was fine, but the amount of times the author repeated “Yale” had me *almost* rolling my eyes. As much as I loved the story, I found myself slowing to a crawl toward the end. All in all, I recommend this book if you want to get insight on a part of America’s history that usually isn’t discussed.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly how I want to learn about historical events, reading like a story not a lecture. Highly recommend this to anyone looking to understand the justice system in the U.S. a little better, and I especially recommend it to those that believe it’s not tainted by politics.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storming the Court is a compelling story, but the writing is just not all that great. It's clear that the story is fairly one-sided, as there is little to no critical examination of the actions made by the Yale team. It's a feel-good story, of course, and a relatively compelling read. The legal issues are portrayed in a way that's relatively easy to understand, which, given that the case is quite complex, is an accomplishment in and of itself.

If the book had been better written and the protagonists been viewed a bit more critically (or the antagonists been understood as a bit less one-sided), this book would have been deserving of another star or two.

Disclaimer: I read this book for a class taught by one of the protagonists.

[Jason Sohigian]

Recommended to me by a Yale graduate--this is a very compelling narrative.

[Shea Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in the hope it would give me the drive I need to get through this last month and half of studying for the bar exam- but it didn’t. Although justice ultimately won out... sort of... it was such a long and uphill road that I had anxiety while reading this. Having gone through law school, I understand the legal process pretty well and I’m no fool as to how politics influence the courts and government lawyers. But the lies and inhumanity shown by the Bush administration, the Clintons, every government attorney, and the guards at Guantanamo was more disheartening than I could have imagined. These law students and the lawyers have who helped save the Haitian refugees were and still are heroes. It just seems like our system is too political to ever really be “just”. It seems more practical to seek alternative measures than to present a case to a politically divided Supreme Court or be appealed, overturned, and vacated over and over by the lower courts. Anyone know a law book that isn’t frustrating or do I have to read a fiction book, maybe by John Grisham, next?

[Sahil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brandt Goldstein does a very good job narrating the story of the Haitian migrants. The story entails how a large influx of Haitian refugees en route to the United States were intercepted in the Caribbean Sea and held at the US military base on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The book goes on to narrate the ensuing legal battles led by a team from Yale Law School to free the refugees and give them a fair opportunity to start a new life in the US. While it is a nonfiction book, Goldstein uses several literary devices to enhance his narration of the story, such as suspenseful chapter endings, as well as small moments of humor, that all help enhance the reading experience. This book is particularly useful for someone in the legal profession, particularly anyone who specializes in immigration law. The many arguments and legal strategies used by Yale’s team to justify why the Haitian refugees were entitled to due process. Overall a very interesting narrative of a previous example of how immigration law has impacted American politics and become a huge burden on the legal system.

[Clarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely and forever obsessed with this book. I knew little to nothing about the story of Guantánamo in relation to the Haitian crisis, nor was I intimately familiar with the US legal system, and I cannot imagine a more engaging, captivating, and all-around entertaining book. It educates without being dull, it enlightens without being preachy, and it makes the abstract world of law and courts remarkably tangible and real. Goldstein did an outstanding job researching and writing this story, I could not recommend this book enough. To anyone, from any background, for any reason. Read this book!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is packed with information but still reads like a story thanks to more emotional and personal details of key players. There is also a very helpful list of terms in the back for people less familiar with legal terms and jargon. Storming the Court followed just one case of Haitian immigrants being detained on Guantanamo, but it it stimulated broader thought on immigration policy and the US court system, as it addresses strategy behind bringing the cases to court. Although focused in detail on a court case, this book is accessible by anyone.

[Yeo Joung Suh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reportage novel. It is dealing with the real court case on 'Haiti Refugee' in the United States of America. Analysis of the social structural and illustration of case is detailed and meticulous. However, the perspective of the author is based on humanity.

[Cheng Jun · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. What a story. Wow.

This book is a straight fire banger from start to finish. The writing style is riveting. The cast of characters lively. The plot unbelievable. It is hard to believe that this is based on a true story, and yet it is. Wow.

[Tenzin Khando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initially read this for class, but decided to re-read it in my own time. Such a compelling and important true story about the U.S. legal system - I absolutely loved reading this novel and highly recommend!

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is great-I have concerns about the pedagogy.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely captivating. This book was “assigned” to me by a mentor, & I’ve already bought it as a gift for two others. I can’t recommend it enough.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very relevant today. I highly recommend reading this!

[Becca Rubin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for my crimmigration class 3L year. Interesting. My professor was one of the attorneys for the government.

[Jaclyn Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story about how law students changed the world. It's possible with the right people in your corner.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an outstanding read. It's fascinating and horrifying to see the inner workings of the court system in America.

[juhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for class; great storytelling, just a lot of characters and not very clear about distinctions about them at time; enjoyable memoir.

[Zach Fessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m starting law school soon and this book got me incredibly excited about both the experience in general and the prospect of clinical work

[Isabel Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for class but it was actually really good. Very inspiring but also a little out of touch. What a week to read it too!

[Maya Eisenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t typically like nonfiction but this had me hooked and made me want to go to law school

[emma ♖ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to see how the courts have always been influenced by politics and not just nowadays.

[maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

veryyy beautiful work, professor goldstein! see u in torts tomorrow (i wish u wrote our casebook, then id be reading for class rn!)

[Griffin Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a little hammy at times, but it was really quite inspiring reading this as a first-year law student. And definitely informative to see how a real impact litigation case wends its way through the system.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I blew through this book in three days - I simply just couldn't put it down. The writing was pretty good (page-turner style) and easy to read. What really drew me in, of course, was the story. Tremendously inspiring.

"Storming the Court" depicts how [now former YLS Dean:] Harold Koh & a bunch of students (including my own clinic professor, Mike Wishnie) from the Lowenstein Clinic at YLS (plus their allies) took on the Herculean job of freeing the Haitians from Guantanamo Bay in the early '90s.

The book was rather biased towards the Yale crowd, of course, and demonized the OIL attorneys and government officials for the most part. The author is a YLS grad himself. And, no doubt, some of those on the side of the Government probably didn't share as much of 'their side' of the story during interviews. But since the biases were perfectly aligned with my own...I didn't mind. :)

Overall, "Storming the Court" just really RESONATED with me - a near perfect description of what clinic life at YLS can be like and what it can blow up into. Not to mention of Harold Koh! I will definitely be forcing this book upon my parents, so that they finally understand what I'm always rambling on about... Clinic this, clinic that...

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 star story, 3 star writing. I can't shake how distressed I am that I didn't know more about this story before reading the book and how badly these Haitians were treated by both the first Bush and Clinton administrations. That law students were able to play such a role in this litigation is not only inspirational, but also highlights that it could only have happened at a place like Yale without rigid law school grades. I only wish other law schools would consider this.

I got the impression that somewhere in the course of submitting drafts, Goldstein may have gotten some feedback asking him to make his heroic lawyers and students more human, resulting in pointless comments about, for example, Italian lemon soda fueling long work hours. Each little anecdote seemed more forced than the last. Beyond this, the writing was passable. He still gets four stars for an extremely compelling story.

[Rachel Jaffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book described the legal situation regarding Haitian refugees who were being held at Guantanamo Bay. I was struck by the comparisons that could be drawn, as well as the contrasts, with the more recent prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. Now, in hearing about the children crossing the border here, I am reminded again of this book and the discussion of the laws concerning refugees seeking asylum.

I wish that the description of the "two sides" was more balanced; there was a definite prejudice in favor of the law students and their crew. The government was painted in somewhat cartoon terms. However, the description of the legal process and strategy was one of the best I've ever read. I appreciated also that the book looked at what went on outside of the court system as well, in terms of what arrangements needed to be made for the Haitians who were allowed entry into the United States.

[Steve Wehling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. It is the gripping tale of the true story of Yale law students and their professor who took the US government to court over the treatment of Haitian refugees that were the first people to have the pleasure of accommodations on Guantanamo Bay's military base. The story includes the viewpoint of the students, the professor, and one of the refugees in the camp. The legal issues have continuing relevance for obvious reasons. One issue that concerned the Haitians is that there is a law against allowing immigrants with AIDS into the U.S., but there is also a law preventing the repatriation of refugees to a home country where they face persecution. A small group of refugees became caught in the middle of this legal snafu and the U.S. government seemed content to let the refugees rot in the camp until they succumbed to their disease.

[Jen Addonizio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I have a particular interest in legal issues and was actually required to read this by my very worldly immigration professor. That being said, anyone with a particular interest in politics, world affairs, civil rights and specifically Guantanamo Bay should read this. It's thought provoking, intelligent and inspiring. My one critique is that the author uses to much legalese (legal speak) and since the topic is of interest to a variety of people, it's my humble opinion that the legalese should have been toned down.