Moses M. Weinstein (July 8, 1912 – November 30, 2007) was an American lawyer and politician.

Name

He was born Morris Weinstein without a middle initial. A playbill for a production at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

added erroneously the middle initial, and a mistaken inscription of his degree at

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, 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 adjunct faculty. ...

changed Morris to Moses which name he adopted henceforth.

Life

He was born on July 8, 1912, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the son of a tailor, and grew up on the

Lower East Side, Manhattan The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal Street (Manhattan), Canal to Houston Str ...

. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School at 15, but it took him seven years and a dozen jobs to work his way through college and law school. In 1941, he married Muriel Marshall (d. 2006). They had three sons who all graduated from Brooklyn Law School too: Jeremy Weinstein, a New York Supreme Court justice and State Senator; Jonathan Weinstein; and Peter Weinstein, a Circuit Court judge in Broward County, Fla. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was an infantry corporal and fought in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

. 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 Ass ...

from 1959 to 1969, sitting in the 172nd, 173rd, 174th, 175th, 176th, 177th and

178th New York State Legislature The 178th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 8, 1969, to April 20, 1970, during the eleventh and twelfth years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany. ...

s. He was Majority Leader from 1965 to 1968, and as such became Acting Speaker for the remainder of the year upon the resignation of Speaker Anthony J. Travia after the close of the legislative session in 1968. He was Chairman of the Queens Democratic Party from 1962 to 1969, and was Majority Leader of the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1967. In August 1968, Weinstein, who as Acting Speaker was fourth in line for the governorship, became Acting

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

for 10 days when Governor

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...

, Lieutenant Governor Malcolm Wilson and Temporary President of the Senate

Earl W. Brydges Earl William Brydges (May 25, 1905 – March 30, 1975) was an American lawyer and politician from New York (state), New York. He was Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, Temporary President and Majority Leader of the State Senate from 19 ...

went to the

1968 Republican National Convention The 1968 Republican National Convention was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Dade County, Florida, USA, from August 5 to August 8, 1968, to select the party's nominee in the general election. It nominated former Vice P ...

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. Weinstein was an ally of

Mayor of New York In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Robert F. Wagner in the early 1960s and had a good relationship with Governor Rockefeller. Weinstein sponsored measures that created the

Urban Development Corporation Empire State Development (ESD) is the umbrella organization for New York's two principal economic development public-benefit corporations, the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the New York Job Development Authority (JDA). ...

and the Crime Victims Compensation Board, reformed

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

and welfare laws, established a consumer bill of rights, increased aid for air-pollution controls and Regents scholarships, and promoted hospital expansion. He supported rent controls, veterans rights, aid to small businesses and antidiscrimination laws. In November 1969, he was elected to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

. In a 1973 case, acknowledging he might be violating the law, he vacated the three-year term of a woman convicted of selling drugs, noting that she had terminal

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

and less than a year to live. In 1980, he was appointed to the

New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York is the intermediate appellate court in New York State. The state is geographically divided into four judicial departments of the Appellate Division. The full title of each is, u ...

, Second Department, with jurisdiction over

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

and seven suburban counties. He participated in rulings that threw out unjust convictions, invalidated school financing based on property taxes and decided many other controversies. He left the bench at the end of 1988 after reaching the constitutional age limit. He died on November 30, 2007, in Memorial Hospital in

Pembroke Pines Pembroke Pines is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located 22 miles (35 km) north of Miami. It is a suburb of and the fourth-most populous city in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Pembroke ...

Broward County, Florida Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...

Sources

Obit in NYT on December 3, 2007, with photo

Mourning notice by Brooklyn Law School, in NYT on December 4, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Weinstein, Moses M. 1912 births 2007 deaths Jewish American military personnel United States Army personnel of World War II Jewish state legislators in New York (state) Speakers of the New York State Assembly Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Queens, New York Brooklyn College alumni Brooklyn Law School alumni United States Army soldiers 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature