Jack B. Weinstein
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Jack Bertrand Weinstein (August 10, 1921 – June 15, 2021) was a
United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
of the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, S ...
. Until his entry into inactive
senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
on February 10, 2020, he maintained a full docket of cases.


Early life, education and military service

Weinstein was born on August 10, 1921, into a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family living temporarily in Wichita,
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, the son of Harry and Bessie (Brodach) Weinstein. He was raised partly in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York. He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn's
Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a List of Brooklyn neighborhoods, neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach i ...
district before receiving a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...
in 1943. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he served as a
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
from 1943 to 1946. His duties included serving as deck officer on board the submarine USS ''Jallao'', where he also ran the radar equipment. He graduated from
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
with a
Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
degree in 1948.


Early legal career

After law school he worked for the
NAACP Legal Defense Fund The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City. LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Altho ...
, was a member of the litigation team for ''
Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...
'', and worked on the "one man, one vote" litigation of the 1960s. His collaborators included future Columbia Law School colleagues such as Charles Black and
Jack Greenberg Jack Greenberg (December 22, 1924 – October 12, 2016) was an American attorney and legal scholar. He was the Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund from 1961 to 1984, succeeding Thurgood Marshall. He was involved in numerous crucial ...
. He was a
law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...
for Justice Stanley Fuld of the
New York State Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by ...
, from 1949 to 1950. He also worked for Republican State Senator
Seymour Halpern Seymour Halpern (November 19, 1913 – January 10, 1997) was an American politician from New York. Life He was born in New York City. He graduated from Richmond Hill High School and attended Seth Low College of Columbia University from 1932 to ...
. While on the faculty of Columbia Law School, he was county attorney of
Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Island ...
from 1955 to 1957.


Federal judicial service

On January 16, 1967, he was nominated as a federal judge to the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, S ...
, to a seat vacated by Judge Leo F. Rayfiel. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
on April 14, 1967, and received his commission on April 15, 1967. He served as Chief Judge from 1980 to 1988. As a federal judge, he has worked with a number of
mass tort A mass tort is a civil action involving numerous plaintiffs against one or a few defendants in state or federal court. The lawsuits arise out of the defendants causing numerous injuries through the same or similar act of harm (e.g. a prescription dr ...
cases, including those relating to
Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...
,
asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
,
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
,
breast implants A breast implant is a prosthesis used to change the size, shape, and contour of a person's breast. In reconstructive plastic surgery, breast implants can be placed to restore a natural looking breast following a mastectomy, to correct congenital ...
,
diethylstilbestrol Diethylstilbestrol (DES), also known as stilbestrol or stilboestrol, is a nonsteroidal estrogen medication, which is presently rarely used. In the past, it was widely used for a variety of indications, including pregnancy support for those with a ...
,
Zyprexa Olanzapine (sold under the trade name Zyprexa among others) is an atypical antipsychotic primarily used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. For schizophrenia, it can be used for both new-onset disease and long-term maintenance. It is ta ...
, and handguns. He has been known to take on large numbers of cases from other judges, and on one occasion collected most of the unresolved
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
petitions in the Eastern District to bring finality to the claims of many prisoners. Weinstein took
senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
on March 1, 1993, but had maintained a full docket of cases since then and continued to do so until he entered into inactive senior status on February 10, 2020. His change to inactive senior status meant that while he remained a federal judge, he no longer heard cases or participated in the business of the court.


Academic service

Following two years in private practice, Weinstein was a tenured professor at Columbia Law School from 1952 until commencing his judicial service in 1967. He remained on the institution's faculty as an
adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...
until 1998. From 1987 until his death, he was an adjunct professor at
Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...
.


Cases

The Second Circuit Appeals court reversed Weinstein's ruling in favor of the City of New York (Mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
) against a group of gun manufacturers. The Second Circuit found the suit to be barred under
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) is a U.S law, passed in 2005, that protects firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products. Both arms manufacturers and dealers ...
(PLCAA). From the decision of April 30, 2008; "We conclude that the City's claim, predicated on
New York Penal Law The ''Consolidated Laws of the State of New York'' are the codification of the permanent laws of a general nature of New York enacted by the New York State Legislature. It is composed of several chapters, or laws. New York uses a system called ...
§ 240.45, does not fall within an exception to the claim restricting provisions of the Act because that statute does not fall within the contours of the Act's predicate exception. We also hold that the PLCAA is a valid exercise of the powers granted to Congress pursuant to the Commerce Clause and that the PLCAA does not violate the doctrine of separation of powers or otherwise offend the Constitution in any manner alleged by the City." In March 2005, Weinstein dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange against producers of chemicals defoliants/herbicides on the grounds that use of the herbicide in warfare had been legal under the international law of the time. According to a May 2010 ''New York Times'' article, Weinstein entered the national
debate regarding child pornography laws Child pornography is illegal in most countries, but there is substantial variation in definitions, categories, penalties, and interpretations of laws. Differences include the definition of "child" under the laws, which can vary with the age of ...
by issuing a "series of rulings that directly attack the mandatory five-year prison sentence faced by defendants charged with receiving child pornography." Between 2006 and 2007, Weinstein presided over a case involving the dissemination of Eli Lilly internal documents relating to the drug Zyprexa. Zyprexa was the subject of litigation in which the plaintiffs alleged that Eli Lilly had downplayed certain side effects associated with Zyprexa. An anonymous "citizen-journalist" initially released the internal documents on the public Internet before Weinstein issued an order blocking publication of material that would "facilitate dissemination" of the documents. In August 2017, Weinstein amended his rule sheet to encourage junior female lawyers to take a speaking role in his courtroom. In October 2017, Weinstein threatened to hold a dedicated hearing on
police perjury Police perjury is the act of a police officer knowingly giving false testimony. It is typically used in a criminal trial to "make the case" against defendants believed by the police to be guilty when irregularities during the suspects' arrest or ...
after allowing allegations to go to trial that police officers had falsely arrested a cashier simply to claim overtime. In December 2017, Weinstein sentenced three gang members to up to eight years in prison for robbing at gunpoint a family and their five young children inside their home. In his statement of reasons for the sentence, however, Weinstein criticized
mandatory sentencing Mandatory sentencing requires that offenders serve a predefined term for certain crimes, commonly serious and violent offenses. Judges are bound by law; these sentences are produced through the legislature, not the judicial system. They are inst ...
for unjustly punishing the perpetrators as "society's unredeemables". On June 11, 2018, Weinstein explicitly criticized recent Supreme Court precedent when he refused to grant
qualified immunity In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "clearly established statu ...
to police officers who had allegedly beaten a resident when he tried to stop them from entering his home without a warrant.


Death

Weinstein died on June 15, 2021 in
Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck (village), New York, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, New York, Great Neck Es ...
(where he resided for most of his adult life) at the age of 99.Retired Brooklyn Federal Judge Jack Weinstein dies at 99.
/ref>


Publications

Weinstein's publications include leading treatises on evidence and New York practice. He has also written a number of law review articles (not included below) and several books. ''Individual Justice in Mass Tort Litigation: The Effect of Class Actions, Consolidations, and Other Multiparty Devices'' (1995) ''Mass Torts:Cases and Materials'' (with Kenneth Feinberg) (1992) Chapter VIII - ''Rulemaking by the Courts: The Judicial Administration Division Handbook'', A.B.A. (6th ed., 1981) ''Reform of the Court Rulemaking Procedures'', The Institute of Comparative Law in Japan (Japanese ed., 1981) ''Reform of the Federal Rulemaking Process'' (Ohio State Univ. Press, 1977) ''Basic Problems of State and Federal Evidence'' (by Edward R. Morgan), 5th ed. Weinstein Rev., (1976) ''Weinstein's Evidence'' (with Prof. Margaret Berger), 7 Volumes, 1975–1979, With Annual Supplements, One Volume, 1987, With Annual Supplements ''Cases and Materials on Evidence'' (with Morgan and Maguire) 1957, (with Maguire, Chadbourn & Mansfield, 1964, 1970, 1973) (with Mansfield, Berger & Abrams, 1981, 1988) ''Rules and Statute Supplement'' (with Mansfield, Abrams & Berger, 1981, 1982, 1987) ''Elements of Civil Procedure'' (with Rosenberg, 1962) (with Rosenberg & Smith, 1970) (1982 Supplement 3rd ed. (with Rosenberg, Smith & Korn)) ''New York Civil Procedure'' (with Korn & Miller) 7 Volumes (1976) ''Manual of New York Civil Procedure'' (with Korn & Miller) (1967) ''Essays on the New York Constitution'' (1966) ''A New York Constitution Meeting Today's Needs and Tomorrow's Challenges'', March (1967) Various New York Practice Annual Publications (Editor) (1960)


See also

*
List of Jewish American jurists This is a list of notable Jewish American jurists. For other famous Jewish Americans, see Lists of American Jews. Supreme Court of the United States Federal judges Appellate judges * Robert E. Bacharach, Judge of the United States Court of ...
*
List of United States federal judges by longevity of service This is a list of Article III United States federal judges by longevity of service. The judges on the lists below were presidential appointees who have been confirmed by the Senate, and who served on the federal bench for over 40 years. It includ ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weinstein, Jack B. 1921 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American judges 20th-century American naval officers 21st-century American judges Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn) alumni American people of Jewish descent Brooklyn College alumni Brooklyn Law School faculty Columbia Law School alumni Columbia Law School faculty Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York Military personnel from Kansas People from Wichita, Kansas Scholars of evidence law United States district court judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson United States Navy personnel of World War II