Race to Judgment

August 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.