Judge Jack B. Weinstein
Senior United States District Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Interviewed by William B. Bonvillian and Oscar Chase
Watch the full video or read the transcript (PDF: 463.77 KB).
About the Interview
The interview was held on December 12, 2016, in Judge Weinstein's chambers, Brooklyn, New York. It was conducted by William B. Bonvillian, lecturer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and senior director of the MIT Office of Digital Learning, and Oscar Chase, Russell D. Niles Professor of Law, NYU School of Law.
Biography
Jack B. Weinstein (1921-2021) was appointed United States District Court judge for the Eastern District of New York by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967, where he served as chief judge from 1980 to 1988. Judge Weinstein assumed senior status on March 1, 1993, retired on February 10, 2020, and passed away on June 15, 2021.
Judge Weinstein was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921. He received his BA from Brooklyn College in 1943 and his LLB from Columbia Law School in 1948. He served as a lieutenant in the US Navy from 1943 to 1946. Prior to the bench, Judge Weinstein was a lecturer at Columbia University from 1948 to 1949, and he was law clerk to the Hon. Stanley Fuld, New York State Court of Appeals from 1949 to 1950. Judge Weinstein was in private practice in NYC from 1950 to 1952, and county attorney for Nassau County, NY, from 1955 to 1957. Judge Weinstein served on the Columbia Law School faculty from 1952 to 1967 and was an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School since 1987.
Video Excerpts
On why he loves being a district judge
On the importance of standing up for civil rights
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