Justice Moses M. Weinstein was born Morris Weinstein on July 8, 1912, the son of a tailor. He grew up on the Lower East Side and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. Weinstein then spent the following seven years working his way through college and law school, graduating from Brooklyn Law School in 1934. He served in the State Assembly for ten years, first winning election in 1958. His positions included chairman of the Queens Democratic Committee (1962-1969), Assembly majority leader (1965-1968), acting speaker (1968) and acting speaker at the 1967 convention, during which the State Constitution was redrafted. He also served as acting governor for ten days in August 1968.
Weinstein took the bench in 1969, when he won election to the State Supreme Court in Queens. In the following year he won election to a 14-year term as an Administrative Judge for the Queens Supreme Court. In 1980, he was designated to the Appellate Division, Second Department. Justice Weinstein joined a majority opinion in 1981 ruling that the state’s system of basing public education financing on local property taxes was unconstitutional because it created a disadvantage for children in poor districts. In 1986, he joined a majority opinion ruling that mandatory drug testing of teachers without reasonable suspicion was unconstitutional. Justice Weinstein remained on the Appellate bench until 1989, when he reached the mandatory retirement age.
Weinstein attained the rank of infantry corporal in the U.S. Army and fought in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.
He was married to Muriel Marshall in 1941 and had three sons, two of whom became judges. He died on November 30, 2007 in Pembroke Pines, Florida at the age of 95.
Sources
Fiske, Edward B. “Court Invalidates School Financing in New York State.” New York Times 27 Oct. 1981: 1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008). Web. 9 Aug. 2012.
McFadden, Robert D. “Moses Weinstein, 95, Legislator and Judge, Dies.” New York Times 3 Dec. 2007: B7. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008). Web. 9 Aug. 2012.
“Moses M. Weinstein.” New York Law Journal 4 Dec. 2007: 2. Print.
Rangel, Jesus. “Court Bars Drug Testing of Teachers.” New York Times 12 Aug. 1986: B1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008). Web. 9 Aug. 2012.