When one Michigan Supreme Court Justice said he was working remotely, he wasn’t kidding. Judge Richard Bernstein saw the pandemic as an opportunity to do some good in the world. So he packed up his computer and headed to Israel to raise support for people with disabilities. But his travel plans didn’t quite turn out the way he intended when he got stuck in Dubai on his way to Israel.
So what did the judge who made the best out of the pandemic do? He made the best out of getting stuck in Dubai, staying to advocate for people with disabilities. His two-week layover in Dubai lasted two months.
“If I can get my work done, why would you not take advantage of a unique opportunity that would promote real change?”
The supreme court justice knows all about persevering through challenges as he was born with a genetic disorder which made him blind since birth.
While he has been criticized for working too remotely during the pandemic, his response is that he has been working harder than ever and will return to Michigan just as soon as courts return to in-person proceedings.
It comes as no surprise that the man who has overcome his limitations has a deep appreciation for the United Arab Emirates’ term “people of determination.” “I absolutely love this expression. We should no longer use the word disability but people of determination.”
Sources
A blind Jewish Michigan Supreme Court justice was stuck in Dubai en route to Israel