Nelson Johnson (born 1948) is an American lawyer, judge and author, best known for his New York Times bestseller, Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City.
Johnson grew up in South Jersey, USA.
Johnson worked at Atlantic City's planning board during the 1980s. As of 2014 he is an Atlantic County Superior Court Judge. and tries mass tort cases.
Nelson's 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.