SAVE THE DATE metro MONDAY • JULY 13 • 2015 11:30 AM Lunch ■ 1 PM Shotgun Start ■ 6:30 PM Cocktails - Auction 7:15 PM Dinner - Program - Raffle Franklin Hills Country Club ■ Franklin, MI New Supreme Court judge is an idealist guided by Jewish values. Kadima Presents 14th Annual- GOLF CLASSI il HONORING NICOL E and MATT LESTE • TO BENEFIT THE LOIS A ID MILTON Y. ZUSSMAN ACTIVITY CENTER The Lois and Milton Y. es daily activities such as educational stimulation, arts and crafts projects, music, as wet as offering clients an opportunity for social, recreational and peer interactions. For Kadima's clients, the activity center is a club of their own; for family members and caregivers, the Zussman Center is a much-needed safety net. PRESENTING SPONSOR LOIS AND MILT ZUSSMAN TITLE SPONSOR MIRY AND DAN SERLIN Princeton Enterprises TOURNAMENT DINNER SPONSOR Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer and Weiss TOURNAMENT LUNCHEON SPONSORS Title Source I Julie and Rick Zussman A fter years fighting for the rights of people with dis- abilities as an attorney in the Public Service Department of his fam- ily's Sam Bernstein Law Firm, 41-year- old Richard Bernstein was sworn in on New Year's Day as Michigan's first blind Supreme Court justice. On May 18, he'll address the inau- gural dinner of the newly established Jewish Bar Association of Michigan at the Westin Hotel in Southfield. The din- ner will honor all new judges who have taken the bench this year or last. Last week, Justice Bernstein was interviewed by the Jewish News and spoke about his first four months on the state's high court. RB: I really enjoy working with the other judges. We have a phenomenal relationship. The people really like each other. It's a friendly, warm environment. I think we function very well as a team. Especially with me being the first blind Supreme Court justice here in our state. There is an incredible excitement, energy and spirit that resonates not just with the other six justices but through the entire Hall of Justice. And my own energy and enthusiasm will resonate through the Michigan court system. CONTEST SPONSOR Inc. Mindi Fynke and Howard Wright I Ilona and Max Fynke Alexandra Fynke and Joel Browning I Asa Lester I Elliah Lester Iris Fynke I Laurie and Tod Fynke GOLF CART SPONSOR Aileen and Harvey Kleiman HOLE SPONSORS Clarkston Capital — J.J. Modell I Crestmark Bank Finsilver Friedman I Fortis Net Lease Hooberman Management Company Kaps Wholesale Food Services Inc. I Korotkin Insurance Group Lynne and Richard Ludwig I Tamaroff Automotive Wells Fargo — The Emerick Investment Group of Wells Fargo Advisors TEE SPONSORS Karen and Eric Adelman I Finkel Whitefield Selik Abbey and Ken Nathan I Lawrence and 'dell Weisberg Trust JN: Did that spirit on the Supreme Court exist before you joined it? Sponsors to date 4.30.15 KADIMA FOR RAFFLE DONATIONS AND SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION M helle Malamis I 248.663.4343 I michellem@kadimacenter.org Your support helps provide comprehensive services to adults and children diagnosed with chronic and persistent mental illness. 1998570 20 April 30 • 2015 I David Sachs Senior Copy Editor JN: The Jewish Bar Association of Michigan (JBAM) is honoring new judges at its dinner on May 18. As a new judge yourself, what have you learned so far from the other Supreme Court justices, and what have you imparted to them? TOURNAMENT SPONSOR EHIM, Mr. Justice Bernstein Lays uown The RB: I think it's always been there. But it's exciting because it's different — having a blind person in this posi- tion impacts how the court ultimately functions because people are becoming more aware and understanding of the challenges and difficulties that people like me have to contend with and have to face on a daily basis. JN: You've been all over the world, helping terror victims in Israel and people with disabilities in Ecuador. How has this affected your perspective on the bench? RB: Our life experiences are what make us who we are. For a judge, I don't think there's anything more important because it is through life experiences you're able to have a genuine under- standing and real connection with most of the people that you serve. One of the things I've been focusing on with the Supreme Court justices is something I'm very passionate about and working really hard on. I believe judges have to be kinder to the attorneys who practice in front of them. I think the Supreme Court will be able to set the tone. As a judge, you can ask the same question and elicit the same information but do it in a very kind and nice way. I think there are certain things judges should never do. Judges should never yell at lawyers; they should never do anything to make a lawyer's job harder than it needs to be. You can call an attorney up to the bench and talk to them directly. But the cardinal thing that judges should never do — under any circumstance — is embarrass an attorney in front of his or her client. JN: One of the purposes of JBAM is to serve the community, with pro bono (free) work, with tikkun olam (repair of the world). What Jewish values do you bring to the court? What Jewish values can Jewish attorneys bring to their prac- tices? RB: I think the values of Judaism are always most important in everything we do. Jewish values are about the idea of working to make the world better, working to have an impact. The key thing I've always believed in is that Jewish values are all about hope. They're all about the idea that tomor- row can be better. They're all about the idea of strength and resilience. Jewish values have that sense of faith. Especially for a blind person in this position, Jewish values say that things