Irwin R. Brownstein (November 4, 1930 – March 24, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was born on November 4, 1930, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He attended the public schools in Brooklyn. He graduated from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

in 1950, and from

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...

in 1953. He was admitted to the bar in 1953, and practiced law in New York City. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

(Kings Co., 16th D.) from 1960 to 1963, sitting in the 172nd, 173rd and

174th New York State Legislature The 174th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 9, 1963, to December 30, 1964, during the fifth and sixth years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany. Ba ...

s. He resigned his seat in 1963 to run for the State Senate seat vacated by Frank J. Pino. He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

from 1964 to 1966, sitting in the 174th, 175th and

176th New York State Legislature The 176th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to July 6, 1966, during the eighth year of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the pr ...

s. In November 1966, he was elected to the

New York City Civil Court The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $25,000 and includes a small claims part (small claims court) for cases in ...

. In November 1968, he was elected to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

. In June 1973, he was one of the three party designees for

Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals refers to the position of chief judge on the New York Court of Appeals. They are also known as the Chief Judge of New York. The chief judge supervises the seven-judge Court of Appeals. In addition, th ...

who were defeated by challenger

Jacob D. Fuchsberg Jacob David Fuchsberg (June 14, 1913, Manhattan, New York City – August 27, 1995, Port Chester, Westchester County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician. He was elected to the Court of Appeals as an associate judge in 1974, and r ...

in the Democratic primary. In February 1979, Brownstein's son, aged 16, died in a fire while staying with friends over the week-end in

Salisbury, Vermont Salisbury is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,221 at the 2020 census. History Salisbury was chartered on November 3, 1761 as one of the New Hampshire Grants issued by Benning Wentworth. The town may have bee ...

. Brownstein resigned from the bench in 1980, and resumed his private practice instead, specialising in matrimonial and real estate law. He died on March 24, 1996, while on a family visit in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

.''I. R. Brownstein, 65, Critic of the Judiciary''
in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' on March 31, 1996

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brownstein, Irwin 1930 births 1996 deaths Politicians from Brooklyn Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Brooklyn College alumni Brooklyn Law School alumni New York Supreme Court Justices 20th-century American judges 20th-century American politicians