Judicial Junkie—written by me, Mary Billard—explores how the law plays out in nonfiction, courtroom thrillers, legal procedurals and literary fiction with where adverse possession makes an unexpected appearance. I’m not here to nitpick (well, maybe occasionally). I’m here because I’m interested in how the law shapes stories, and how stories shape our understanding of the law.

I’m a lifelong legal nerd, a former New York Times editor and writer (Style and Travel), and a Brooklyn Law School graduate (yes, I passed the Bar).

Much of my career has unfolded where law and storytelling meet. Good trial lawyers don’t simply argue facts. They shape narratives. The best novelists do the same.

I covered the legal profession for The American Lawyer and Manhattan Lawyer, helped launch Court TV, and reported on trials ranging from organized crime to product liability cases. My death penalty work was recognized with the Thurgood Marshall Award from the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

Over the past two decades, I’ve advocated for foster youth through CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), appearing in Family Court in every borough of New York in both volunteer and staff roles. That work taught me something no courtroom drama quite captures: how even a five-minute hearing can permanently reshape a child’s life.

Covering the John Gotti trials—filing stories by fax!—taught me that courtrooms are where stories collide. Lawyers, witnesses, victims and defendants all arrive with competing versions of the truth. The law asks a jury to decide which story prevails. Maybe that’s why I keep looking for those same questions in fiction.

Book Nerd | Legal Nerd | Library Nerd

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— Janice Hallett, The Killer Question