Jack B. Weinstein
Encyclopedia
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
in the Eastern District of New York
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the entirety of Long Island and Staten Island...
. Judge Weinstein was appointed in 1967 by President Lyndon Johnson. From 1980 to 1988, he served as chief judge of the district. On March 1, 1993, he took senior status; however, unlike some senior judges, he has maintained a full docket. He is the author of a leading treatise on evidence and numerous articles and books, and is widely regarded as one of the most respected and influential living judges in America.
Biography
Judge Weinstein was born in Wichita, KansasWichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
in 1921, and raised partly in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. He graduated from Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
with a B.A. in 1943. He served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
from 1943 to 1946. He graduated from Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
with an L.L.B. in 1948.
After law school, he worked for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, was a member of the litigation team for Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
, and worked on the "one man, one vote" litigation of the 1960s. His colleagues included future Columbia Law colleagues such as Charles Black and Jack Greenberg
Jack Greenberg (lawyer)
Jack Greenberg is 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 a law clerk
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
to Hon. Stanley Fuld
Stanley Fuld
Stanley Howells Fuld was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1967 to 1973.-Life:...
, New York State Court of Appeals from 1949 to 1950. He was a County attorney of Nassau County, New York
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
from 1955 to 1957.
On January 16, 1967, he was nominated as a federal judge to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the entirety of Long Island and Staten Island...
, to a seat vacated by Leo R. Rayfiel. He was confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on April 14, 1967, and received commission on April 15, 1967.
As a federal judge, he has worked with a number of mass tort cases including cases relating to Agent Orange
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...
, asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, breast implants, DES
Diethylstilbestrol
Diethylstilbestrol is a synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen that was first synthesized in 1938. Human exposure to DES occurred through diverse sources, such as dietary ingestion from supplemented cattle feed and medical treatment for certain conditions, including breast and prostate cancers...
, Zyprexa, and handguns. He is often viewed as a particularly creative judge in the area of mass torts (depending on the point of view of the speaker, this may be a compliment or a criticism). Judge Weinstein is also well-known for his personal, informal courtroom style (Weinstein conducts most hearings seated at a table in the middle of the courtroom with counsel, rather than from the bench, and often chooses to wear an ordinary business suit with no judicial robe). He tends to avoid harsh criminal sentences. 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
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
petitions in the Eastern District to bring finality to the claims of many prisoners.
He was also a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
from 1952 to 1998, continuing to hold his job as a federal judge. Since 1987 he has been an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School is a law school located in Brooklyn Heights, in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.-History:Founded in 1901 by William Payson Richardson and Norman P. Heffley, Brooklyn Law School was the first law school on Long Island. Using space provided by Heffley’s business school, the law...
.
The judge's former law clerks include a number of judges and law professors, including Judge Denise Cote
Denise Cote
Denise Cote is a United States federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.-Personal and Education:...
of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
, Dean Joan Wexler of Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School is a law school located in Brooklyn Heights, in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.-History:Founded in 1901 by William Payson Richardson and Norman P. Heffley, Brooklyn Law School was the first law school on Long Island. Using space provided by Heffley’s business school, the law...
, Professor Anita Bernstein of Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School is a law school located in Brooklyn Heights, in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.-History:Founded in 1901 by William Payson Richardson and Norman P. Heffley, Brooklyn Law School was the first law school on Long Island. Using space provided by Heffley’s business school, the law...
, Professor Marty Lederman
Marty Lederman
Martin "Marty" S. Lederman is a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel , appointed by President Obama in January 2009. He previously served as an Attorney Advisor in OLC from 1994 to 2002...
of Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law...
, Professor Elizabeth Nowicki of Tulane Law School, Professor John C.P. Goldberg of Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, Professor Jonathan B. Wiener of Duke University School of Law
Duke University School of Law
The Duke University School of Law is the law school and a constituent academic unit of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law began as the Trinity College School of Law in 1868. In 1924, following the renaming of Trinity...
and Professor Samuel Buell of Washington University School of Law
Washington University School of Law
Washington University School of Law , is a private American law school located in St. Louis, Missouri. The law school is one of the seven graduate and undergraduate schools at Washington University in St. Louis....
.
Publications
Judge 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 Mansfeld, 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 3d 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)
Cases
The Second Circuit Appeals court reversed Judge Weinstein's ruling in favor of the City of New York (Mayor Bloomberg) against a group of gun manufacturers. The Second Circuit found the suit to be barred under Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). From the decision of April 30, 2008; "We conclude that the City’s claim, predicated on New York Penal Law § 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." (http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov:8080/isysnative/RDpcT3BpbnNcT1BOXDA1LTY5NDItY3Zfb3BuLnBkZg/05-6942-cv_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov:8080/isysquery/irl93eb/6/hilite):Judge Weinstein presided over a controversial wiki case in 2006-2007 (EFF article):
- At today's hearing, federal district Judge Jack B. Weinstein refused to change his order blocking publication of material that would "facilitate dissemination" of the Lilly documents. A further hearing on the issue is set for Tuesday, January 16.
- Fred von Lohmann files a preliminary motion to lift, or at least clarify, the injunction against this wiki. The Honorable Judge Weinstein will not consider changing the language of the order until the hearing scheduled for 16 January.
Eli Lilly moved to censor the links to the documents one journalist posted on the free wiki site.
According to a New York Times article published on December 17, 2006, Eli Lilly has engaged in a decade-long effort to play down the health risks of Zyprexa, its best-selling medication for schizophrenia, according to hundreds of internal Lilly documents and e-mail messages among top company managers. These documents and e-mail messages were soon made publicly available as a location hidden Tor
Tor (anonymity network)
Tor is a system intended to enable online anonymity. Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers in order to conceal a user's location or usage from someone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis...
service, and then made available on the public Internet. Eli Lilly got a temporary restraining order from a US District Court signed on January 4, 2007 to stop the dissemination or downloading of Eli Lilly documents about Zyprexa, and this allowed them to get a few US-based websites to remove them; on January 8, 2007, Judge Jack B. Weinstein refused the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
's motion to stay his order. The documents can now only be downloaded from public Internet sites outside the US. These health risks include an increased risk for diabetes through Zyprexa's links to obesity and its tendency to raise blood sugar. Zyprexa is Lilly’s top-selling drug, with sales of $4.2 billion last year.
According to a May 2010 New York Times article, Weinstein has begun to issue a "series of rulings that directly attack the mandatory five-year prison sentence faced by defendants charged with receiving child pornography."
Controversy
Judge Jack Weinstein has been criticized for being sympathetic towards plaintiffs in litigation against the tobacco and firearm industries. An investigation by the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
found that big lawsuits with billions of dollars at stake tend to get assigned to Judge Weinstein. According to the newspaper, some plaintiffs, particularly in tobacco and firearms cases state at filing time that their cases are related to other cases that are or have been before Judge Weinstein. This results in their cases being assigned to him as well. Judge Weinstein has been criticized for this practice by other judges including Judge George Pratt
George C. Pratt
George Cheney Pratt was a federal appellate judge in the United States.Pratt attended Yale University as an undergraduate as well as Yale Law School...
and Judge José Cabranes
José A. Cabranes
José Alberto Cabranes , is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Formerly a practicing lawyer, government official, and law teacher, he was the first Puerto Rican appointed to a federal judgeship in the continental United States .-Background:Cabranes was born in...
of the 2nd Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
. Defense attorneys for the firearm and tobacco industries have alleged judge shopping
Forum shopping
Forum shopping is the informal name given to the practice adopted by some litigants to get their legal case heard in the court thought most likely to provide a favorable judgment...
and have long tried to get their cases reassigned away from Judge Weinstein's courtroom, with mixed results.
The Second Amendment Foundation
Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation or SAF is an educational- and legal-defense organization which describes its mission as “promoting a better understanding about our constitutional heritage to privately own and possess firearms...
, a gun rights organization has called upon Judge Weinstein to step down from the bench or step aside from hearing any further gun industry lawsuit cases, arguing that the judge has become known more for activism than judicial neutrality.
In June 2008, in the case of Adventure Outdoors, a Georgia gun dealer sued by the City of New York, Judge Weinstein was accused of having "already made up his mind about the case, making any trial 'a mere formality.'" Judge Weinstein had decided to seat an advisory jury
Advisory jury
An advisory jury is a group installed by a judge to give him or her an opinion during a trial. The opinion is non-binding, and the judge remains the "final arbitrator of fact and law". In United States Federal Court, a case may be tried by advisory jury in the case of "an action not triable of...
, which caused the gun dealer to withdraw from the trial in order to move more quickly to an appellate court. The Second Amendment Foundation
Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation or SAF is an educational- and legal-defense organization which describes its mission as “promoting a better understanding about our constitutional heritage to privately own and possess firearms...
echoed concerns that the dealer could not get a fair trial before Judge Weinstein and called for Weinstein to recuse himself from firearms industry cases.
External links