Michael Ponsor

Michael Ponsor graduated from Harvard, received a Rhodes Scholarship, and studied for two years at Pembroke College, Oxford. As an undergraduate, he spent a year teaching in Kabete, Kenya, just outside Nairobi. After taking his law degree from Yale and clerking in federal court in Boston, he began his legal career, specializing in criminal defense. He moved to Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1978, where he practiced as a trial attorney in his own firm until his appointment in 1984 as a US magistrate judge in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed him a life-tenured US district judge. From 2000 to 2001, he presided over a five-month death penalty trial, the first in Massachusetts in over fifty years. Judge Ponsor continues to serve as a senior US district judge in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Western Division, with responsibility for federal criminal and civil cases in the four counties of western Massachusetts.

The Hanging Judge (The Judge Norcross Novels Book #1)

When a drive-by shooting in Holyoke, Massachusetts, claims the lives of a drug dealer and a hockey mom volunteering at an inner-city clinic, the police arrest a rival gang member. With no death penalty in Massachusetts, the US attorney shifts the double homicide out of state jurisdiction into federal court so he can seek a death sentence.

The Honorable David S. Norcross, a federal judge with only two years on the bench, now presides over the first death penalty case in the state in decades. He must referee the clash between an ambitious female prosecutor and a brilliant veteran defense attorney in a high-stress environment of community outrage, media pressure, vengeful gang members, and a romantic entanglement that threatens to capsize his trial—not to mention the most dangerous force of all: the unexpected.

Written by judge Michael Ponsor, who presided over Massachusetts’s first capital case in over fifty years, The Hanging Judge explores the controversial issue of capital punishment in a dramatic and thought-provoking way that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is “a crackling court procedural” (Anita Shreve) and “gripping legal thriller” (Booklist) perfect for fans of Scott Turow.

(Open Road, December 2013)

The One-Eyed Judge (The Judge Norcross Novels Book #2)

When FBI agents barge into Sidney Cranmer’s home accusing him of a heinous crime, the respected literature professor’s life becomes a nightmare. Cranmer insists the illicit material found by the agents isn’t his, but the charge against him appears airtight, and his academic specialty—the life and work of controversial author Lewis Carroll, creator of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland—convinces investigators he’s lying.

Presiding over the case against Professor Cranmer, U.S. District Judge David Norcross fears his daily confrontation with evil has made him too jaded to become a husband and father. His girlfriend, Claire Lindemann, teaches in the same department as the defendant and is convinced of his innocence. Soon, she will take matters into her own hands. Meanwhile—with his love life in turmoil and his plans for the future on hold—a personal tragedy leaves Norcross responsible for his two young nieces. Unbeknownst to him, a vengeful child predator hovers over his new family, preparing to strike.

Michael Ponsor’s debut novel, The Hanging Judge, was praised by retired Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens for reminding readers “that the judicial process is not infallible” and by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Tracy Kidder for bearing “the heft of authenticity.” The One-Eyed Judge again draws on Ponsor’s thirty years as a US district judge, offering readers an insider’s view of one of the most harrowing kinds of cases faced by the courts. Fast-paced, thrilling, and thought-provoking, this is legal fiction at its most realistic and compelling.

(Open Road, June 2017)

Point of Order (The Judge Norcross Novels Book #3)

Dominic O’Connell is one of Boston’s most prominent businessmen. His rise from poverty to power as a successful contractor is the stuff of local legend. But it may all come to an end after he goes to court—a dying hitman has fingered O’Connell for the long-unsolved murder of a police officer.

The Hon. David S. Norcross reluctantly agrees to preside at the trial as a favor to a colleague. His generosity, unfortunately, draws him into a nightmare. His wife miraculously survives a deadly bombing at Harvard Yard. Then someone sends the judge photos of his infant son, along with an anonymous warning to get off the case . . . or else.

As the trial date approaches, the tension only continues to mount. The FBI believes terrorists are behind the bombing, and one of the suspects is tied to Norcross’s past. But what is their motive? Who is after Norcross’s family? Is O’Connell guilty? And just how many more people will die before all questions are answered?

Drawing on decades of experience as a trial judge, New York Times–bestselling author Michael Ponsor crafts a gripping third Judge Norcross novel. The result is another page-turning mystery brimming with intrigue, fear, and courage, set in the real-life world of a federal court.

(Open Road, March 2024)