Code of Silence

Olsen describes a serious oversight problem with vigor and credibility . . . A well-documented expose of a broken system for policing errant federal judges. -Kirkus Reviews A long overdue expose on how the judicial system suppresses claims of sexual harassment against judges. In this new era of reckoning with sexual assault and harassment, Code of Silence is essential reading for anyone looking to understand how institutions subvert efforts to end gender-based violence. -Anita Hill Lise Olsen is a masterful investigative reporter and storyteller. She was the first to uncover the full story of Judge Samuel Bristow Kent and the victims he harmed. Her book goes right to the heart of judicial corruption-and the complaint system that protects federal judges. Harrowing and redemptive. -Skip Hollandsworth, author of The Midnight Assassin and executive editor of The Texas Monthly In Code of Silence, Lise Olsen, one of journalism's finest investigative reporters, exposes what goes on in the most secret of chambers, showing how far too often, and for far too long, federal judges have been able to abuse their extraordinary power with impunity. She cracks the code. The result is a story of shameful failure in the highest reaches. -Ken Armstrong, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and coauthor of Unbelievable At once heartbreaking, infuriating, and heroic, Code of Silence is a masterpiece of #MeToo investigative journalism that takes apart gross injustice within the court system and the judges who rule over it-and likewise rule over the women who support them. Olsen's writing is as propulsive as it is informative as she teaches readers why judges are nearly invincible and how women who suffer abuse at their hands are without recourse. As a journalist, Olsen is tenacious in her pursuit of judicial wrongdoing and sensitive in the way she paints the women who are at the center of her endeavors. This new entry in the #MeToo genre is not to be missed. -Donna Freitas, author of Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention Code of Silence is a classic story of villainous oppressors and vulnerable targets. You would think it was a fairy tale, except it is wrenchingly true. Lise Olsen, one of a growing class of heroic journalists who acted when agencies of governance failed, tells the story of the men who routinely sexually abused and harassed the women in their power, and, wait for it, they were judges. Who will judge the judges, indeed? Thanks in part to Olsen, the women got some justice in the end. A riveting and eye-opening read. -Linda Hirshman, author of Reckoning: The Epic Battle Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment