[Nfbc-info] Blind Judge Makes History, Joins Michigan's Supreme Court

[Jim Barbour]

Wow, I wonder if he plans to work off the clock for all his cases, memorizing each of them.

I think This seems like a very inefficient way for a judge to work. I'm curious what others think?

Jim

On Mon, Dec 29, 2014 at 12:28:27PM -0600, Nancy Lynn via Nfbc-info wrote:
> I got this from another list and thought it would interest you.
> Blind Judge Makes History, Joins Michigan's Supreme Court
> 
> DETROIT (AP) -- 
> 
>  
> 
> Richard Bernstein officially joins the Michigan Supreme Court in a few days. But he's been working off the clock since November, preparing
> 
> for 10 cases in an extraordinary way - memorizing the key points of every brief read to him by an aide.
> 
>  
> 
> Bernstein, 41, has been blind since birth. After winning the election, an assistant at his family's Detroit-area law firm began reading briefs to him for
> 
> mid-January arguments, including a medical marijuana case and a labor dispute covering thousands of state employees.
> 
>  
> 
> "It would be much easier if I could read and write like everyone else, but that's not how I was created," Bernstein said. "No question, it requires a lot
> 
> more work, but the flip side is it requires you to operate at the highest level of preparedness. ... This is what I've done my entire life. This goes all
> 
> the way back to grade school for me."
> 
>  
> 
> Michigan has never had a blind judge on its highest court, and few other states have. In Missouri, Justice Richard Teitelman has been legally blind since
> 
> age 13. Judge David Tatel, who is blind, sits on a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.
> 
>  
> 
> "Every new justice has to make a transition from whatever life he or she had before," Chief Justice Robert Young Jr. said. "His will be different than
> 
> others, but he's extraordinarily successful and very driven. You don't enter Ironman competitions without having a steel backbone."
> 
>  
> 
> Indeed, Bernstein's remarkable background undoubtedly appealed to voters. He has run more than 15 marathons, and in 2008 completed a triathlon by riding
> 
> a bike 112 miles, running 26.2 miles and swimming 2.4 miles with the help of guides. In 2012, he made headlines in New York City after being struck by
> 
> a speeding bicyclist while running in Central Park, a collision that put him in a hospital for weeks.
> 
>  
> 
> Bernstein is widely known in southeastern Michigan because his family's personal-injury law firm regularly advertises on TV. He spent more than $1.8 million
> 
> of his own money to campaign for the state Supreme Court. His slogan? "Blind Justice."
> 
>  
> 
> As one of only two Democrats on the seven-member court, Bernstein is unlikely to crack the court's conservative sway. But he's still expected to make a
> 
> difference.
> 
>  
> 
> "His own experience and background is different than anyone else's at the conference table," said Justice Bridget McCormack, who was a law professor before
> 
> being elected in 2012. "Richard knows a whole lot about disability law the rest of us don't. We don't get a lot of those cases. Who knows how it will be
> 
> useful?"
> 
>  
> 
> Bernstein will be sworn into office on New Year's Day. Timothy MacLean, his assistant for three years, has been reading briefs aloud to prepare him for
> 
> the court's first batch on oral arguments on Jan. 13.
> 
>  
> 
> "We do use technology but technology can only take you so far," Bernstein said. "I internalize the cases word for word, pretty much commit them primarily
> 
> by memory. I'm asking the reader to pinpoint certain things, read footnotes, look at the legislative record."
> 
>  
> 
> Hearing arguments and writing opinions is only part of a Supreme Court justice's job. They meet weekly to decide whether to accept or reject appeals in
> 
> more than 2,000 cases a year. Because he's blind, Bernstein will be having many conversations with his law clerks instead of communicating through email
> 
> or long memos.
> 
>  
> 
> "My chambers will be unique," he said. "Not many clerks will have as much interaction with a justice as mine will." 
> _______________________________________________
> Nfbc-info mailing list
> Nfbc-info at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbc-info_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Nfbc-info:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbc-info_nfbnet.org/jbar%40barcore.com
>