Partner Alexandra Shapiro’s Debut Novel Continues to Garner Acclaim from Reviewers
In Late March 2022, Alexandra’s debut novel, Presumed Guilty, was published by New Degree Press. It has continued to gain the attention of lawyers and the judiciary across the nation and illustrates the changes in the criminal justice system and how sometimes the innocent can be unfairly prosecuted in the United States.
Since its release, the book has garnered acclaim from multiple independent reviewers, the latest being Joseph W. Bellacosa, a retired Judge who served on the New York State Court of Appeals. In his article “Presumption of Innocence, Where Have You Gone?” published by New York Law Journal on September 21, 2022, Judge Bellacosa writes: “The author makes an overarching case ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ for a recalibration of attitudes…” He acknowledges that Alexandra “practices the art and craft of criminal defense representation” and her reputation and experience as a federal prosecutor and law clerk to Justice Ginsburg as he points out: “Those experiences add a triangulated realistic perspective to her fictional narrative that uses a white-collar criminal prosecution to spotlight troubling imbalances in the scales of criminal justice.”
Judge Bellacosa further highlights how the novel illustrates the erosion of prosecutorial practices through Alexandra’s “no-drama style,” stating: “Perceived harmony, or worse bias, between discrete prosecutorial and judicial functions dilutes the fundamental presumption of innocence…”
Judge Bellacosa’s article can be read here.
For more information, please see Alexandra’s book website and connect with her on Instagram and Twitter.