A Constitutional Quirk Inspired Stacey Abrams' New Thriller, 'While Justice Sleeps'

A Supreme Court justice is gravely ill, ideological control of the court hangs in the balance — throw in a ruthless president and an international conspiracy, and what you have is the plot of Stacey Abrams's new novel, While Justice Sleeps. Yes, that Stacey Abrams, the Georgia politician, and she's written a thriller ripped straight from the headlines — inspired by a conversation over lunch with her mentor.

"One day she was just musing about this strange phenomenon in the Constitution, and she asked me if I had ever thought about it for a book," Abrams recalls. "And I said, no, I'd never really given it thought that Article III, which is the only provision in the Constitution that gives someone a lifetime appointment, has no failsafe for a person being physically unable to do the job."