Quick Facts
Biography
Nelson Johnson (born 1948) is an American lawyer, judge and author, best known for his 2002 New York Times bestseller, Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City.
Early life
Johnson is a life-long resident of Hammonton, N.J.
Career
Johnson was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1974. He represented the Atlantic City Planning Board in the early 1980s. In explaining his motivation to write Boardwalk Empire, Johnson explained "It [City Hall] was dysfunctional and corrupt. I thought, in order to do my job here, I have to find out how it got this way. I didn't set out to write a book. I just wanted a better understanding."
Johnson retired from his position as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge in September, 2018. During his tenure on the bench, he handled mass tort cases/product liability claims.
Nelson's 2002 book Boardwalk Empire was the basis for the HBO drama series Boardwalk Empire. Its sequel is The Northside: African Americans and the Creation of Atlantic City.In 2010, Nelson was asked by the New Jersey State Superior Court to cease promoting the book and the series in order to preserve the ethical neutrality of his position as a judge.
His third book, published by Rutgers University Press, is Battleground New Jersey: Vanderbilt, Hague and Their Fight for Justice, and is about Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague and Arthur T. Vanderbilt, first Chief Justice of New Jersey’s modern Supreme Court.
