Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Judge Laura Ward remembers Rabbi Irving J. Block -
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
The Gift of Wisdom That Keeps on Giving
Dr Irving J. Block, whose Eighth Annual Memorial Lecture was held on
November 15, 2010 at the Brotherhood Synagogue, was a rabbi with a vision.
This was remembered by Judge Laura A. Ward, Acting Supreme Court Justice of
the Supreme Court of New York (who was the youngest child at the founding of
Brotherhood Synagogue in 1954), with a lecture titled Rabbi Block - The Gift
of Wisdom That Keeps on Giving.
Young Rabbi Block, an accountant by profession, US Army and Hagganah Defense
Force alumnus, graduate of the JTS, wanted to create the ideal synagogue,
described as a warm and friendly place, with the sanctuary open to all, housing a
congregation with an open heart and open door, whose members reach out to
one another and assist all people in the community. / Laura's grandfather
believed him, and the family joined, and Rabbi Block succeeded, in 1954 he
had a synagogue. The first temple she remembers was a six-column Greek
Revival building on East 13th Street which Brotherhood shared with the
Village Presbyterian Church.. The sharing of the buildings, a
complicated procedure, was made easy because the Minister, Dr. Jesse William
Stitt, shared Dr. Block's principles of fellowship. To foster better
relationships between faiths, the Rabbi and the Minister began a program of
speaking to congregations of all persuasions throughout the nation. This was
the era of the civil rights struggle, but the spirit of good will prevailed,
and the team continued their joint effort throughout the 1950s and '60s,
also appearing on radio and TV to promote brotherhood, and traveled to
Germany and Israel to prove to the world that ecumenism was real.
As a teenager, Laura Ward was very much affected by Rabbi Block's mission.
She knows that the example set by his actions had made her a better, more
caring individual, both in personal life and subsequently, as a jurist. In
the daily life of the synagogue, the congregation participated in their
Rabbi's effort to bring more young Jews back to religion (the Bet Cafe
in the synagogue brought in as many as 200 participants at times, to
talk, read poetry, hear music and dance ); helped Ethiopian Jews escape
persecution and resettle, offered services for developmentally disabled
children and mentally disabled adults; , provided meeting space for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, an expanded Hebrew School, and a homeless shelter program, after the Synagogue's 1974 move to Gramercy Park.
.
The recovery programs affected the young jurist the most. Staring her law
career in private practice with Skadden Arps, she soon followed the career
path of her late father , Justice Robert Ward, for many years a Federal District Court Judge in the Southern District of New York.
First as a Special Attorney , Laura Ward
served with the US Department of Justice 's Organized Crime and Racketeering
section, then continuing as Assistant US Attorney, she prosecuted traditional Italian and Russian organized crime cases, including
the Gambino crime family and its head John Gotti. But her first appointment as a Justice was to the Criminal Court of NY County
in 1997, where she served for three years, and about a year and a half into
her appointment she was asked if she would agree to preside over a
different type of court, one focusing on alternative sentencing for drug
offenders. In NYC courts dependents were being arraigned 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. Manhattan had two daytime courtrooms operating 15 hours a
day, and one nighttime, 1 AM to 9 AM. A judge could arraign in one session
between 50 and 150 defendants, depending on the number of arrests, paper
work preparation and the production of the defendents.
Some 75% of the defendents in the 1990s were charged with possession or sale
of narcotics or marijuana, and many others with crimes related to their drug
addiction, such as burglary, robbery, larceny or prostitution committed because they
were trying to obtain money to buy drugs. A Judge might see a defendant on
Monday take a plea for drug paraphernalia and sentence him to three days in
jail, only to see him return later in the week for some other drug related
offense. It was clear to those in the criminal justice system, the judges,
prosecutors, defense attorneys and arresting officers, that repeat jail was
not the answer to eradicating the drug epidemic. The revolving door would
inevitably escalate the misdemeanors to felonies. Following a law school
principle is that a sentence should combine punishment, retribution and
rehabilitation, Chief Judge Judith Kaye decided to create drug treatment
courts, a principle initially opposed by many prosecutors and judges,
arguing that the criminal justice system should not be entering the drug
treatment profession. .Justice Ward, apparently influenced by the social
service principles inculcated in many of Rabbi Block's adherents, accepted
the assignment and the change of functions for seven years.
An effective drug court requires that all parties cast aside the adversarial
system to help the individual in need, by giving the defendent the tools to
deal with the problem. Typically, an individual who could be cured is
identified by a prosecutor or attorney as potentially benefiting,
occasionally despite a long past history, such as a first time felon facing
five years of jail time. Even recidivist felons may qualify, particularly
since the September 2009 revision of the draconian Rockefeller drug act.
Judge Ward's record of 80% success, defined as the defendants not returning
back to jail within 5 years after treatment, proves that the drug treatment
program works, to the society’s benefit. The program may take one to six
years to complete, and the judge remains on the case for the duration, with
defendants and their families often eager to report back their successes to
what is often the only authority figure who has taken a serious interest in
a young person's life.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Laura A. Wards has since 2007 been presiding
over calendar parts 70 and 23 of the Court. Before that, for seven years,
she shared presiding over with calendar of part N of the court with
presiding over three courts of drug treatment, for first time offenders,
felons and parole violators. She has also been an adjunct professor at Fordham
Law School, and often lectured at FBI and other agencies. Currently she serves on the
Board of Advisors of the Ethics Institute of the New York County Lawyers
Association. One senses that this is another place where Rabbi Block's gift
that returns is playing a role.
Rabbi Block's mission has also continued at Brotherhood, with a dedicated Board
of Trustees and his activist successor Rabbi Daniel Alder, who. with
Executive Director Philip Rothman, introduced Judge Ward.
The Gift of Wisdom That Keeps on Giving
Dr Irving J. Block, whose Eighth Annual Memorial Lecture was held on
November 15, 2010 at the Brotherhood Synagogue, was a rabbi with a vision.
This was remembered by Judge Laura A. Ward, Acting Supreme Court Justice of
the Supreme Court of New York (who was the youngest child at the founding of
Brotherhood Synagogue in 1954), with a lecture titled Rabbi Block - The Gift
of Wisdom That Keeps on Giving.
Young Rabbi Block, an accountant by profession, US Army and Hagganah Defense
Force alumnus, graduate of the JTS, wanted to create the ideal synagogue,
described as a warm and friendly place, with the sanctuary open to all, housing a
congregation with an open heart and open door, whose members reach out to
one another and assist all people in the community. / Laura's grandfather
believed him, and the family joined, and Rabbi Block succeeded, in 1954 he
had a synagogue. The first temple she remembers was a six-column Greek
Revival building on East 13th Street which Brotherhood shared with the
Village Presbyterian Church.. The sharing of the buildings, a
complicated procedure, was made easy because the Minister, Dr. Jesse William
Stitt, shared Dr. Block's principles of fellowship. To foster better
relationships between faiths, the Rabbi and the Minister began a program of
speaking to congregations of all persuasions throughout the nation. This was
the era of the civil rights struggle, but the spirit of good will prevailed,
and the team continued their joint effort throughout the 1950s and '60s,
also appearing on radio and TV to promote brotherhood, and traveled to
Germany and Israel to prove to the world that ecumenism was real.
As a teenager, Laura Ward was very much affected by Rabbi Block's mission.
She knows that the example set by his actions had made her a better, more
caring individual, both in personal life and subsequently, as a jurist. In
the daily life of the synagogue, the congregation participated in their
Rabbi's effort to bring more young Jews back to religion (the Bet Cafe
in the synagogue brought in as many as 200 participants at times, to
talk, read poetry, hear music and dance ); helped Ethiopian Jews escape
persecution and resettle, offered services for developmentally disabled
children and mentally disabled adults; , provided meeting space for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, an expanded Hebrew School, and a homeless shelter program, after the Synagogue's 1974 move to Gramercy Park.
.
The recovery programs affected the young jurist the most. Staring her law
career in private practice with Skadden Arps, she soon followed the career
path of her late father , Justice Robert Ward, for many years a Federal District Court Judge in the Southern District of New York.
First as a Special Attorney , Laura Ward
served with the US Department of Justice 's Organized Crime and Racketeering
section, then continuing as Assistant US Attorney, she prosecuted traditional Italian and Russian organized crime cases, including
the Gambino crime family and its head John Gotti. But her first appointment as a Justice was to the Criminal Court of NY County
in 1997, where she served for three years, and about a year and a half into
her appointment she was asked if she would agree to preside over a
different type of court, one focusing on alternative sentencing for drug
offenders. In NYC courts dependents were being arraigned 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. Manhattan had two daytime courtrooms operating 15 hours a
day, and one nighttime, 1 AM to 9 AM. A judge could arraign in one session
between 50 and 150 defendants, depending on the number of arrests, paper
work preparation and the production of the defendents.
Some 75% of the defendents in the 1990s were charged with possession or sale
of narcotics or marijuana, and many others with crimes related to their drug
addiction, such as burglary, robbery, larceny or prostitution committed because they
were trying to obtain money to buy drugs. A Judge might see a defendant on
Monday take a plea for drug paraphernalia and sentence him to three days in
jail, only to see him return later in the week for some other drug related
offense. It was clear to those in the criminal justice system, the judges,
prosecutors, defense attorneys and arresting officers, that repeat jail was
not the answer to eradicating the drug epidemic. The revolving door would
inevitably escalate the misdemeanors to felonies. Following a law school
principle is that a sentence should combine punishment, retribution and
rehabilitation, Chief Judge Judith Kaye decided to create drug treatment
courts, a principle initially opposed by many prosecutors and judges,
arguing that the criminal justice system should not be entering the drug
treatment profession. .Justice Ward, apparently influenced by the social
service principles inculcated in many of Rabbi Block's adherents, accepted
the assignment and the change of functions for seven years.
An effective drug court requires that all parties cast aside the adversarial
system to help the individual in need, by giving the defendent the tools to
deal with the problem. Typically, an individual who could be cured is
identified by a prosecutor or attorney as potentially benefiting,
occasionally despite a long past history, such as a first time felon facing
five years of jail time. Even recidivist felons may qualify, particularly
since the September 2009 revision of the draconian Rockefeller drug act.
Judge Ward's record of 80% success, defined as the defendants not returning
back to jail within 5 years after treatment, proves that the drug treatment
program works, to the society’s benefit. The program may take one to six
years to complete, and the judge remains on the case for the duration, with
defendants and their families often eager to report back their successes to
what is often the only authority figure who has taken a serious interest in
a young person's life.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Laura A. Wards has since 2007 been presiding
over calendar parts 70 and 23 of the Court. Before that, for seven years,
she shared presiding over with calendar of part N of the court with
presiding over three courts of drug treatment, for first time offenders,
felons and parole violators. She has also been an adjunct professor at Fordham
Law School, and often lectured at FBI and other agencies. Currently she serves on the
Board of Advisors of the Ethics Institute of the New York County Lawyers
Association. One senses that this is another place where Rabbi Block's gift
that returns is playing a role.
Rabbi Block's mission has also continued at Brotherhood, with a dedicated Board
of Trustees and his activist successor Rabbi Daniel Alder, who. with
Executive Director Philip Rothman, introduced Judge Ward.
Labels: Laura A. Ward
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 10:10 AM 
