Viola Davis and James Patterson have written an incredible courtroom drama and created the most unforgettable character in years.
All rise…for Judge Stone.
The most respected citizen in Union Springs, Alabama (population 3,314), is Judge Mary Stone. She holds two responsibilities sacred: running her family farm and presiding over her courtroom. It's there she draws the most controversial case in the history of the South.
Criminally, it's open-and-shut.
Ethically, there is no middle ground.
Essentially, it's a choice between life and death.
No judge can satisfy everyone. It would be dangerous to try. But Judge Stone is willing to fight to bring justice to the people and place she loves. Viola Davis is an internationally acclaimed actress, producer, New York Times bestselling author, and EGOT winner-only the fourth person to do so in exclusively via performance-based awards. She is the co-founder and CEO of JuVee Productions, an artist driven production company that develops and produces independent film, theater, television, and digital content. In 2025, the Golden Globes honored her with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment."
She is known for her exceptional performances, such as her Emmy-winning role in television's How to Get Away with Murder; her Academy Award nominated movies like Doubt, The Help, and Fences (for which she received the Oscar); the Screen Actors Guild award for her role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom; her two Tony Awards in theater (for Fences and King Hedley II); and as a Grammy-winner for best audiobook, narration and storytelling recording, for her bestselling memoir, Finding Me.
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women's Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton. He has told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
