"[1] Sullivan received international media attention as the episode was broadcast on live television, making him "something of a hero to lawyers, even moderates and liberals".
Stevens was convicted of all counts in a trial before D.C. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, on October 27, 2008, shortly before election day, when he would be narrowly defeated by Mark Begich.
[5][6][7] Discovery of the prosecution's failure to provide sufficient exculpatory information in response to a Brady motion, led to Attorney General Eric Holder withdrawing the indictment after a reversal of the verdict during the appeal process.
He defended former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros against accusations of making false statements to the FBI during a background check.
He is the attorney for billionaire chipmaker Henry Nicholas, the founder of Broadcom, who was charged with violating securities and narcotics law in June 2008.
The prosecutor, Mike Nifong, served a day in jail for contempt of court and was disbarred because he did not disclose DNA evidence to the defense that would have weakened his case; Sullivan's clients, and all others accused were declared "innocent" by then North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper.
In 2012, Sullivan explained to PBS interviewers during an investigation of overzealous prosecution that "the heat of battle" was responsible for leading honest and upstanding prosecutors to forget prosecutorial ethics.
Minneapolis band Beat the Clock has a song on their 1992 Funk Bus album called "Brendan V.", about Sullivan's role in the Oliver North trial.