BALANCE OF JUSTICE: A NOVEL Format: Paperback

A novel based on the fascinating life of one of Upstate New York's most remarkable women.In January of 1872, Josephine McCarty was indicted for murder in a shooting on a horse-drawn streetcar in Utica, New York. There were witnesses, and the common consensus was that the woman would hang. Then the governor of New York called a special term of court, and his attorney general sent a high-powered lawyer to aid the prosecution. Why? Perhaps the story was more complex than it appeared.This accounting of Josephine's life offers a window into another place in time, an era when flamboyant architecture and white-gloved manners masked a darker side of society. The facts brought forth in her trial reveal a woman of unfathomable courage struggling in a time when money and influence obliterated the line between villain and victim.

Eileen Sullivan Hopsicker was born in Utica, New York, and spent the bulk of her life in the Mohawk Valley region. She has an avid interest in history and was serving as president of the Limestone Ridge Historical Society when she uncovered the story of Josephine McCarty.

She holds an Associate Degree in Fine Art from Mohawk Valley Community College and a Bachelor of Studio Art from Hamilton College. She retired as Director of Records and Research for Development at Utica College. She currently resides in Webster, New York.

The Balance of Justice is Eileen's first novel of hers.