Race to Judgment

by Frederic Block

Overview

Fast paced legal thriller and powerful urban drama from Frederic Block, the Brooklyn based federal judge who sentenced Peter Gotti of the Gambino crime family. Based partly on fact and seething racial tensions and political corruption, it doesn't get any more "New York" than Race to Judgment! Race to Judgment is a "reality-fiction" debut novel loosely based on a number of high-profile cases handled by its author, a federal trial court judge, over his 23 years on the federal bench in Brooklyn-such as the Crown Heights riots and the Peter Gotti trial. It tracks the rise of the fictional African-American civil rights protagonist Ken Williams (in real life, the recently deceased Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson) from his days as an Assistant United States Attorney through his meteoric rise to unseat the long-term, corrupt Brooklyn DA because of a spate of phony convictions against black defendants, including another one of the judge's real cases (JoJo Jones in the book) for the murder of a Hasidic rabbi. Williams' dramatic courtroom antics (with the aid of his colorful private eye) results in JoJo's exoneration after 16 years behind bars. In addition, Williams defends a young black guidance counselor accused of killing the rabbi's son many years ago, and champions the cause of a young Hasidic woman raped by her father. As a hobby, Williams plays jazz piano and writes country songs written by the author-which are reproduced in the book and can be heard on e-books and the Internet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590794388
Publisher:	SelectBooks
Publication date:	10/10/2017
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Judge Frederic Block was appointed United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York on September 29, 1994, and entered duty on October 31, 1994. He assumed senior status on September 1, 2005. He received a Bachelor's Degree from Indiana University in 1956, and an LL.B. Degree from Cornell Law School in 1959. During his twenty-three years on the bench, Judge Block has presided over a number of high-profile cases, including the trials of former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, Peter Gotti, Lemrick Nelson and nightclub magnate Peter Gatien. He regularly sits by designation on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Block recently authored the best-selling book entitled DISROBED: An Inside Look at the Life and Work of a Federal Trial Judge. He also co-authored the 1985 off-Broadway musical Professionally Speaking (music and lyrics). He has likewise published articles on a variety of legal topics.

What People are Saying About This

criminal defense and civil rights lawyer - Ron Kuby

“With heroes and villains as boldly drawn as the tabloid headlines, Race to Judgment provides a thrill ride through the bad not-so-old days of the Brooklyn justice system. This first novel by Judge Frederic Block brings a federal jurist’s keen eye to detail as the story powers through grimy holding cells, law offices where the real deal goes down, and courtrooms both ornate and gritty.”

New York Times bestselling author - Linda Fairstein

“Race to Judgment is a riveting thriller about truth and justice, from a courtroom pro who has viewed the bench from both sides. Block’s narrative is taut and compelling, and a wonderful addition to the crime genre.”

founder of AboveTheLaw.com and author of Supreme Ambitions - David Lat

“Judge Block's Race to Judgment is a gripping page-turner with the added virtue of realism, thanks to the author's decades of experience as a lawyer and federal judge. I devoured it in a weekend, and I suspect you will do the same."

New York Times bestselling author of Travels with Epicurus and Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar (coauthored with Tho - Daniel Klein

“Only an author with a finely -tuned sense of drama and an exhaustive knowledge of the legal system could have written this brilliant crime novel. Judge Frederic Block is that man.”

From the Publisher

Reads with the pace of a whip crack. Judge Block knows this world cold. Take the plunge.

“Only an author with a finely -tuned sense of drama and an exhaustive knowledge of the legal system could have written this brilliant crime novel. Judge Frederic Block is that man.”

“Block’s Race to Judgment is the inside skinny on the justice system from a man who lives it every day, but it’s the story that shines. Read and enjoy.”

“With heroes and villains as boldly drawn as the tabloid headlines, Race to Judgment provides a thrill ride through the bad not-so-old days of the Brooklyn justice system. This first novel by Judge Frederic Block brings a federal jurist’s keen eye to detail as the story powers through grimy holding cells, law offices where the real deal goes down, and courtrooms both ornate and gritty.”

“Race to Judgment is a riveting thriller about truth and justice, from a courtroom pro who has viewed the bench from both sides. Block’s narrative is taut and compelling, and a wonderful addition to the crime genre.”

“Judge Block's Race to Judgment is a gripping page-turner with the added virtue of realism, thanks to the author's decades of experience as a lawyer and federal judge. I devoured it in a weekend, and I suspect you will do the same."

#1 NY Times bestselling author - David Baldacci

Reads with the pace of a whip crack. Judge Block knows this world cold. Take the plunge.

New York Times bestselling author of What You Break - Reed Farrel Coleman

“Block’s Race to Judgment is the inside skinny on the justice system from a man who lives it every day, but it’s the story that shines. Read and enjoy.”

Editorial Reviews

08/21/2017
Block (Disrobed: An Inside Look at the Life and Work of a Federal Trial Judge) draws on actual cases he handled as a prominent federal judge in Brooklyn for his uneven first novel, an exercise in what he calls reality-fiction in the preface. Ken Williams, an African-American born in the Brooklyn projects who rises to become a famous DA, seeks to free two African-Americans imprisoned murder: Troy Jackson, a guidance counselor for troubled kids, who was convicted of murdering Menachem Mendel Bernstein seven years earlier, and JoJo Jones, who was imprisoned for 16 years for murdering a Hasidic rabbi. Both cases involve alleged misconduct by Brooklyn DA James Neary and his chief prosecutor, Anthony Racanelli. Block does a fine job of dramatizing the legal proceedings, but frequent digressions, including commentary on the architecture of notable Brooklyn buildings and excerpts from Ken’s diary, slow the narrative. Readers will wish for a tighter editorial hand next time. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

2017-11-28
A historical novel dramatizes a defense attorney's perilous stand against judicial corruption in Brooklyn.Troy Jackson is an unusual candidate for a murder suspect—a clean-cut black guidance counselor with a relatively clean criminal record, he owns a home in Brooklyn with his pregnant wife. Nevertheless, he's arrested for the killing of Menachem Mendel Bernstein, a crime committed seven years ago, on the strength of highly questionable eyewitness testimony. Troy's wife contacts Ken Williams, a black defense attorney with a reputation for championing the fair judicial treatment of African-Americans in New York City. Meanwhile, Williams has already taken on the case of Jojo Jones, a black inmate who was convicted of the murder of Bernstein's father, a rabbi, 16 years earlier. Jones was found guilty—without any physical evidence—on the basis of testimony that is revealed to be the fruit of brazen coercion. The deeper Williams digs into the case, the more clearly he discerns a disturbing pattern of widespread corruption on the parts of District Attorney James Neary and Anthony Racanelli, his top prosecutor. And once Williams is able to successfully win Jones' freedom, mortifying Neary and Racanelli, they respond by arresting him for the assault of a police officer and getting his law license temporarily suspended. Pushed to the brink and filled with rage, Williams decides to challenge Neary for his position and runs for district attorney, a decision quickly followed by death threats and the bombing of his office, which kills Jones. Block (Disrobed: An Inside Look at the Life and Work of a Federal Trial Judge, 2012)—a U.S. district judge who has spent nearly a quarter century on the bench—vividly depicts a city roiled by racial tensions and a district attorney's office cravenly eager to kowtow to its Jewish campaign donors. The novel does double duty as history, skillfully recounting New York's race riots and their lasting effects as well as some of the city's most incendiary scandals. The writing is crisp if less than literary, but the story—closely based on the life of lawyer Ken Thompson, the first black district attorney of Brooklyn—is as gripping as any fictional crime tale.A relentlessly paced legal drama that ably chronicles a city's past racial tensions.

Kirkus Review