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Richard Bernstein, a justice on Michigan s state Supreme Court, has been living in Dubai since he got stuck there en route to Israel in January 2021. (Asma Ali Zain/JTA)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (JTA) On a weekday afternoon, if you walk down the Palm Jumeirah Boardwalk, a promenade overlooking the Arabian Gulf that encircles this capital city’s famous palm-shaped artificial island, you may encounter a man repeating legal texts line by line to himself for hour after hour.
That man is Richard Bernstein, 46, a judge serving on the Michigan Supreme Court. He’s been living in Dubai for two months and counting. And the texts he’s reciting memorizing in some instances are court filings from the week’s cases.
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A Michigan Supreme Court justice said Thursday that he has been overseas for three months, participating in an international program to improve the perception of people with disabilities while pulling all-nighters to keep up with his work back home.
Richard Bernstein, who is blind and Jewish, said he s passionate about the work he s doing in the United Arab Emirates and Israel and is in no rush to return to Michigan while the court is closed for face-to-face business because of COVID-19. Why would I waste another entire year doing nothing? he told The Associated Press.
The court heard arguments in seven cases Wednesday and had five more on its docket Thursday.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (JTA) On a weekday afternoon, if you walk down the Palm Jumeirah Boardwalk, a promenade overlooking the Arabian Gulf that encircles this capital city’s famous palm-shaped artificial island, you may encounter a man repeating legal texts line by line to himself for hour after hour.
That man is Richard Bernstein, 46, a judge serving on the Michigan Supreme Court. He’s been living in Dubai for two months and counting. And the texts he’s reciting memorizing in some instances are court filings from the week’s cases.
Bernstein, who has been visually impaired since birth due to a genetic disorder called retinitis pigmentosa, is blind. So he studies his cases by calling his clerks, having them read the filings to him sentence by sentence, then repeating the documents until he’s familiar enough with them to form an opinion.
A blind Jewish Michigan Supreme Court justice was stuck in Dubai en route to Israel Now he has no plans to leave haaretz.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from haaretz.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A blind Jewish Michigan Supreme Court justice was stuck in Dubai en route to Israel. Now he has no plans to leave. April 7, 2021 10:15 am Richard Bernstein, a justice on Michigan s state Supreme Court, has been living in Dubai since he got stuck there en route to Israel in January. (Asma Ali Zain)
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (JTA) On a weekday afternoon, if you walk down the Palm Jumeirah Boardwalk, a promenade overlooking the Arabian Gulf that encircles this capital city’s famous palm-shaped artificial island, you may encounter a man repeating legal texts line by line to himself for hour after hour.