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

Tue Dec 30 02:16:07 UTC 2014

I can certainly raise my hands to being a workaholic and to doing work off the clock.  However, no one describing these actions would call them "extraordinary" (cribbed from the article)

In other words, it's not to be celebrated that he takes longer to read up on cases.

Like I said earlier, remove his blindness from this equation and then look at how the article talks about him.  If your impression is "well, he just does things differently", then I'm wrong.  If your impression is "how the hell do they expect him to dothis job", then I've made my point.

I should also say that I'm making 2 assumptions from my reading of the article. First, I'm assuming that the article is making a point of him reading up on cases off the clock because it's unusual.  Next, I'm also assuming that what the article is really pointing out is that he takes longer to read up on cases than his peers. I've seen a few people point out on this thread that judges do this all the time. I can't know, but I'm assuming if it's normal behavior the article wouldn't have mentioned it.  I may be wrong on this point. In fact, judges probably don't work on a clock, they're salaried workers who work until the job is done.

Jim

On Mon, Dec 29, 2014 at 05:15:59PM -0800, Lisa Irving wrote:
> Jim and all others, 
> 
> Let's re frame this thought. How many of can raise our hands to  being a
> workaholic? How many of as blind individuals has done work off the clock
> because, yes, some tasks take some people; both blind and sighted, longer
> than another co-worker. I can raise my hand on both accounts.
> 
> Lisa Irving
> -----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 10:36 AM
> To: Nancy Lynn; NFB of California List
> Cc: nfbmo list
> Subject: Re: [Nfbc-info] Blind Judge Makes History, Joins Michigan's Supreme
> Court
> 
> 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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