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

Tue Dec 30 00:29:19 UTC 2014

All,

I also agree with Brian. I'm sure we would all come up with a myriad of ways to do whatever it is we do, and anyone else can easily come behind us and second guess our choices. What I think is important here is to recognize all this man has accomplished. At age 41, he has been elected in a state wide election by - not running from - but embracing his blindness. His track record and abilities helped the people of Michigan realize he is able to serve successfully in the highest court in the state. You or I may choose to do his job differently - but apparently his techniques work for him. He is obviously a well-educated man that came from an affluent family. Given that, and the fact he is obviously intelligent, it is pretty safe to say he has been afforded the chance to be trained in a number of alternative techniques and understands the benefits and drawbacks to each. This process appears to work for him. 

Also, as somebody who has interacted with the media numerous times, I can tell you that often stories are over-simplified or misinterpreted. Weather due to a need for speed for a reporter to produce content, a misunderstanding of disability or a desire to glorify what blindness is, the truth is often streamlined in order to fit into a world best suited for Twitter. 

Best,
Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: Nfbc-info [mailto:nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jim Barbour via Nfbc-info
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2014 3:22 PM
To: Brian Buhrow
Cc: NFB of California List
Subject: Re: [Nfbc-info] Blind Judge Makes History, Joins Michigan's Supreme Court

I think Brian put this extraordinarily well and I agree with all of it.

Jim

On Mon, Dec 29, 2014 at 01:41:21PM -0800, Brian Buhrow wrote:
> 	Hello.  I too share the concerns Jim and others raised about how this 
> judge works.  However, I think we should be careful not to read too 
> much into this article about how he actually works.  For example, down 
> near the bottom of the piece, he describes briefly how he works with 
> his clerks.  He notes that he has them help him find citations  
> related to the brief in question, read footnotes and lookup the case 
> histories of the laws the briefs concern.  These all sound like tasks 
> that human readers are very good at completing quickly and 
> effectively.  While the article doesnt say he uses braille, it does 
> say he is from a large family law practice where he was quite 
> successful, using 1.8 million of his own dollars to fund his campaign.  
> Given all these tidbits plus the fact that he's only 41 years old, I'd 
> say the article is most likely selling him far short of his actual 
> capabilities.  Michael Hingson is right.  Let's be happy he's worked 
> his way this far up the judicial system and hope he serves with honor 
> and distinction for many years to come.  In the mean time, perhaps 
> someone from our journalists division can undertake to interview him for a  Monitor article where he'll reveal some of the mysteries we've explored here.
> Finally, for the record, I'm guessing that many judges find they don't 
> have enough time on the clock to complete all the reading they should 
> for their cases.  Richard isn't special in that regard, he's just 
> getting it done differently than they do.  That, to me, sounds like 
> our NFB philosophy at work and that's something we can and should cheer about.
> -thanks
> -Brian
> 
> On Dec 29,  1:20pm, Juanita Herrera via Nfbc-info wrote:
> } Subject: Re: [Nfbc-info] Blind Judge Makes History, Joins Michigan's 
> Supre } Being that I'm going into law, reading this article did not inspire me. It made me sad to know that this person is not using alternatives to try to complete his work as independently as possible. It also confused me when it said that this person isn't going to be using email to communicate with his clerks because he's blind. I know of many blind folks who use email to communicate with their bosses, coworkers, and even friends. Why can't he use email? Maybe he's not tech savvy? I think that if he were it would make his life much easier.
> } Best,
> } Juanita
> }
> } > On Dec 29, 2014, at 10:35 AM, Jim Barbour via Nfbc-info <nfbc-info at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> } >
> } > 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." 
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> >-- End of excerpt from Juanita Herrera via Nfbc-info
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