Robert K. Tanenbaum is an American

trial attorney A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, novelist, and former mayor of Beverly Hills, California.

Early life and education

Robert K. Tanenbaum, born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

on a basketball scholarship where he earned a B.A. He received his J.D. from

Boalt Hall School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

at the University of California, Berkeley.

Legal career

It was under the leadership of District Attorney

Frank Hogan Frank Smithwick Hogan (January 17, 1902 – April 2, 1974) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He served as New York County District Attorney for more than 30 years, during which he achieved a reputation for professionalism and ...

where Tanenbaum learned about trial preparedness and presenting evidence to a jury as an Assistant

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...

in Manhattan. Later, Tanenbaum became head of the Homicide Bureau, served as Chief of the Criminal Courts, and was in charge of the D.A.'s legal staff training program. During his time in the D.A.'s office, Robert K. Tanenbaum never lost a felony case. After his tenure in Manhattan's D.A.'s office, Robert K. Tanenbaum served as Deputy Chief Counsel for the

House Select Committee on Assassinations The United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) was established in 1976 to investigate the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963 and 1968, respectively. The HSCA completed its ...

to investigate the

John F. Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle wi ...

and the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination. Tanenbaum subsequently resigned from the post shortly after being named. In 1988 he appeared in the documentary ''

The Men Who Killed Kennedy ''The Men Who Killed Kennedy'' is a video documentary series by British television network ITV that depicts the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Originally broadcast in 1988 in two parts (with a subsequent ...

''. In private practice, notably, he was a special prosecution consultant on the

Hillside Strangler The Hillside Strangler, later the Hillside Stranglers, is the media epithet for one, later discovered to be two, American serial killers who terrorized Los Angeles, California, between October 1977 and February 1978, with the nicknames originating ...

case in Los Angeles; defended Amy Grossberg in her sensationalized baby death case; and represented eight black plaintiffs in a significant racial profiling case against the

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

Police Department. He taught Advanced Criminal Procedure for four years at Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He conducts continuing legal education seminars for practicing lawyers in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, New York and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He is a member of the State Bars of New York, Pennsylvania and California.

Political career

Robert K. Tanenbaum served two terms as Mayor of

and was a City Council Member for eight years, from 1986 to 1994. He ran unsuccessfully for Los Angeles County District Attorney in 1992. He was defeated for re-election to the City Council in 1994.Mathis Chazanov
Victory Vow : Beverly Hills Mayor Says He'll Finish Civic Center, 'Even If I Have to Do It Myself'
''The Los Angeles Times'', April 20, 1989 He also ran D.A.

's re-election campaign for District Attorney in 1973.

Literary career

Robert K. Tanenbaum's byline appears on 32 books; 29 novels and 3 nonfiction works. His cousin Michael Gruber was the ghostwriter of the first part of the popular Butch Karp -Marlene Ciampi series of novels, starting with No Lesser Plea and ending with Resolved. After the partnership with Tanenbaum ended, Gruber began publishing novels using his own name. Tanenbaum's ''The Piano Teacher '', co-written with Peter S. Greenberg, is the true story of a psychotic killer, ''Badge of the Assassin'' recalls the true account of Tanenbaum's investigation and trial of self-proclaimed members of the

Black Liberation Army The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was a far-left, black nationalist, underground Black Power revolutionary paramilitary organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic ...

who assassinated two

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

police officers, Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagentini. It was later adapted into a movie titled

Badge of the Assassin ''Badge of the Assassin'' is a 1985 television film starring James Woods, Yaphet Kotto and Alex Rocco. It was directed by Mel Damski. The film first aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System network on November 2, 1985. The film's production comp ...

, starring

James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off- Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in ''The Trial of the ...

as Tanenbaum. Tanenbaum's signature work, ''Echoes of My Soul'' was published in May 2013 by

Kensington Books Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New York-based publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011)Grimes, William"Walter Zacharius, Romance Publisher, Dies at 87,"''New York Times'' (MARCH 7, 2011). and Roberta Bender G ...

and was named 'Pick of the Week' by ''Publishers Weekly'' in its April 22, 2013 edition. It is about ''

Miranda v. Arizona ''Miranda v. Arizona'', 384 U.S. 436 (1966), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution restricts prosecutors from using a person's statements made in response to ...

'', the United States Supreme Court decision that laid the groundwork for

Miranda rights In the United States, the ''Miranda'' warning is a type of notification customarily given by police to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial interrogation) advising them of their right to silence and, in effect, protection ...

. His latest novel, ''Without Fear or Favor'', was published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...

Gallery Books in August 2017.

Bibliography

Non-fiction

* 1987: ''The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer'' * 1979: ''Badge of the Assassin'' (1985 TV film adaption ''

'') * 2013: ''Echoes of My Soul''

Fiction

* 1987: ''No Lesser Plea'' * 1989: ''Depraved Indifference'' * 1991: ''Immoral Certainty'' * 1992: ''Reversible Error'' * 1993: ''Material Witness'' * 1994: ''Justice Denied'' * 1994: ''Corruption of Blood'' * 1996: ''Falsely Accused'' * 1997: ''Irresistible Impulse'' * 1998: ''Reckless Endangerment'' * 1999: ''Act of Revenge'' * 2000: ''True Justice'' * 2001: ''Enemy Within'' * 2002: ''Absolute Rage'' * 2003: ''Resolved'' * 2004: ''Hoax'' * 2005: ''Fury'' * 2006: ''Counterplay'' * 2007: ''Malice'' * 2008: ''Escape'' * 2009: ''Capture'' * 2010: ''Betrayed'' * 2011: ''Outrage'' * 2012: ''Bad Faith'' * 2013: ''Tragic'' * 2014: ''Fatal Conceit'' * 2015: ''Trap'' * 2016: ''Infamy'' * 2017: ''Without Fear or Favor''

References

External links

robertktanenbaumbooks.com

Interview with Len Osanic
on Black Op Radio (Ep. 731). {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanenbaum, Robert K. Living people UC Berkeley School of Law alumni American crime fiction writers Mayors of Beverly Hills, California American male novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American novelists University of California, Berkeley alumni Writers from Brooklyn California city council members UC Berkeley School of Law faculty 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) 1942 births