Last month, I again ventured into Brooklyn to visit with Judge Block and to talk about a book of his. But this time the book is a work of fiction, a novel called Race to Judgment. As I said in my blurb for the book, “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.”
Not surprisingly given Judge Block’s prominence — over the years, he has presided over cases involving the Crown Heights riots, Kitty Genovese, and mob boss Peter Gotti — his book is generating buzz. It has been covered on NBC News, the New York Daily News — and now the pages of Above the Law. Here’s a (lightly edited and condensed) write-up of our conversation in chambers.
DL: What inspired you to write fiction after years of writing judicial opinions and a non-fiction book?
FB: My last book, Disrobed, was well received — but it came from a legal publisher, and it was viewed as almost an academic book. I wanted to write a book aimed at the general public that would inform them about the judiciary.
I was chatting with a colleague of mine, Judge Michael Ponsor of the District of Massachusetts. He read Disrobed and called to tell me that he enjoyed it. He then told me about his own book, The Hanging Judge, a work of fiction. It sold well — a New York Times bestseller, in fact — and his publisher gave him a deal to write a second book.
“I can’t tell you how much I enjoy releasing the shackles that we’re bound by when we write non-fiction,” he told me. “It’s so much fun to let your mind wander and write creatively. Why don’t you try that?”
“Michael, I’m 80 years old.”
“You have lots of energy,” he told me. “You’ll enjoy doing it.”
Then I spoke to my friend Daniel Klein — author of Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar, also a Times bestseller, and many other books. He also urged me to write a creative book, but to write “what you know.” He gave me the idea of writing reality-based fiction, a novel based on my experiences as a judge.
DL: And where did you get the inspiration for the plot of Race to Judgment?
FB: I started to put together a storyline that I thought would make for a good read and that was based on cases I’ve handled over the years. I presided over the case of Lemrick Nelson, accused of killing Yankel Rosenbaum in the 1991 Crown Heights riots. I handled the civil case against New York City filed by Jabbar Collins, who was convicted for the murder of an Orthodox rabbi that he did not commit.
The Collins case became a major campaign issue when Ken Thompson ran for Brooklyn district attorney against Charles Hynes. Thompson rode that horse to victory, unseating Hynes as DA after more than 20 years. I integrated these events into my book.
Ken started serving as DA, and then he got sick. When I found out Ken was sick, I had just about finished the book. I called up Ken’s former law partner Doug Wigdor, whom I’ve known since he was a kid and his father was my eye doctor.
“Judge, it’s terminal,” Doug told me. “It’s colon cancer.” I told Doug that I was done with a book based in part on Ken’s life and that I wanted to dedicate it to him.
A few weeks later, Doug told me that he was with Ken in the hospital and gave him the book. Ken wasn’t in any condition to read at the time, but he told Doug, “Thank the judge for me.”
Shortly after that, Ken died, on October 9 of last year. My book comes out on October 10, around the first anniversary of his death. I recently met with Ken’s widow Lu-Shawn to give her a signed copy of the book. She told me the book was a wonderful way of perpetuating Ken’s legacy. I had tears in my eyes.
DL: How long did it take you to write the book, and where did you find the time, given your demanding day job as a federal trial judge?
FB: Maybe two years, on and off — it fermented a bit, and I did a lot of thinking and outlining before writing. In terms of the physical part of sitting down and writing the sentences, it took me about eight months.
DL: Eight months? As a fiction writer myself, I must say — that’s fast.
FB: When you’re my age, you write fast! I’d write whenever I had the chance — mornings, evenings, weekends, whenever I had the time. When I had a good idea I could write for hours, forgetting even needing to go the bathroom. Full-time writers have more of a routine, but I didn’t have the luxury of a set writing schedule. Part of me still can’t believe I wrote this thing. How did I do that?
DL: Readers will be struck by how realistic the book is, right down to having characters who are recognizable as real-life individuals. Did you have any concerns, legal or otherwise, about featuring characters who are based on living people? For example, there’s a district attorney in the book who is less than admirable….
FB: I did consult with a lawyer who specializes in these issues, and she was very helpful. Some readers might note similarities between the DA in my book and Charles Hynes, but at the end of the day, the DA’s office here is fictionalized.
Hynes didn’t sound upset when he commented to the Daily News about my book. And I’ve also written an epilogue to clarify what’s real and what’s fictionalized.
DL: New Yorkers should also recognize the book’s Brooklyn setting, including many familiar and famous places.
FB: I was born in Brooklyn and grew up here. I built my career as a lawyer in Suffolk County, but when I was appointed to the bench, I returned to my roots and came back to Brooklyn. The borough is in my blood.
Just look around, look at the sights here — the Brooklyn Bridge, Prospect Park, Eastern Parkway, the Botanical Gardens, the Brooklyn Museum. Imagine Brooklyn back in the 1800s — it was a paradise, featuring some of the greatest architecture of the time.
At the time the Brooklyn Bridge was built, Brooklyn was the third-largest city in the country. It gave up some of its identity when it merged with the other boroughs to become New York City. But Brooklyn could have gone the other way, becoming a separate city of 2.5 million people. And in recent years, it has carved out more of a separate identity again.
I enjoyed using the book as a vehicle to talk about the history of Brooklyn. The book is a tribute to Brooklyn, and Brooklyn contributes to the story.
DL: As the author of a memoir and now a novel, how would you compare writing fiction versus non fiction, and do you prefer one or the other?
FB: What I really like about this book is how, through the plot and characters, I can explore issues — the conditions on Rikers Island, the problem of wrongful convictions, the policy of prosecutorial immunity, the effect of the media on the judiciary and judicial independence.
When I wrote Disrobed, I felt strongly about certain issues and wanted to bring them to public attention. Writing this novel, I saw an opportunity to sell more books and educate the public about important issues.
DL: Do you have any other books in the works?
FB: I have about forty pages written of a book called Radical Justice, a sequel to Race to Judgment. It’s going to be about terrorism in the courtroom. It begins with a courtroom being blown up and turns into a whodunit, while exploring the judiciary’s role in the war on terror.
DL: You’ve actually witnessed violence in your courtroom. Was this next book inspired by any of your own experiences?
FB: Judges face risks, and the public should be aware of that. Here in the Eastern District, we’ve had more terrorism convictions than any other district in the country. I’ve handled cases involving defendants who were radicalized. The U.S. Attorney’s office has a fully staffed terrorism unit, and they’ve done a good job in preventing attacks. But terrorism remains a real threat, to judges and to society.
DL: And can you tell us a little about the plot of Radical Justice?
It features a judge a lot like me, by the name of “Felix Black.” He has three law clerks: a Jew from Harvard, a Muslim from Yale, and a surfer woman from southern California. There are interactions between the Jewish and Muslim clerks, which will be worked into the storyline about the terror case. There’s a prominent lawyer based on Ben Brafman (who knows about the book and the character based on him).
DL: Shifting gears a bit and returning to your work as a judge, there have been a number of high-profile judicial retirements in the past few months — most notably Richard Posner’s retirement from the Seventh Circuit, but been others as well. How long do you plan to remain on the bench?
FB: As senior judges, we could retire with full salary — so to the extent that we still hear cases, the public gets our services for free. And I feel very lucky to be able to still be on the bench.
Four of my colleagues on the Eastern District are over 90, so at 83, I’m considered a youngster. It’s great to work with bright young law clerks, on interesting cases like this street-art case. There’s no reason not to continue so long as you’re able to do the job well.
The most difficult part is to discipline yourself to know when it’s time to leave the bench. It’s easier said than done. Your law clerks aren’t going to tell you. Dementia is out there as a real problem.
I think I’ll still effective at 83 — in fact, maybe more effective than ever, because I haven’t lost my marbles and have 23 years of experience on the bench. One of the great things about writing books is how it keeps the mind active and staves off dementia. The same thing is true of my playing piano and writing music.
DL: Like the music that you’ve integrated into Race to Judgment.
FB: Yes, that’s right. There’s a songbook at the end of Race to Judgment, featuring all of the songs featured in the book — which is also available for streaming and on YouTube. I think of this as my way of competing with John Grisham — can he write music?
DL: Where did this music come from? Did you write it specifically for the book?
FB: I had a bunch of country songs I had written that were just lying around. In Race to Judgment, I have a protagonist who’s a black guy who went to law school at Vandy and fell in love with country music while in Nashville. So I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to put this music to good use.
DL: Speaking of media beyond print, any thoughts on turning Race to Judgment into a movie?
FB: There’s a film here for sure. My protagonist could be played by Denzel Washington — I just have to get him to take a look!
DL: That would be awesome. Any final reflections on your new book and your foray into fiction writing?
FB: With a second book out, I can tell myself, I’m a legitimate author now! I don’t take that for granted. Interesting things happen when you’re active and willing to try new experiences. You never know what will happen once you put something out there.
As a judge, I’m used to being in control — “overruled,” “sustained” — and now I’m totally out of control. Do I like it? No. But you have no idea of how people will react to what you put out there, and you can’t control it.
So enjoying the process is important for a writer. That’s a big part of the fun.
DL: Agreed. Congrats again on Race to Judgment, and I look forward to chatting with you again on the occasion of your next book!