More information is here; this is probably the true source of the Atlantic article: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/11/19/if-its-a-girl-judge-kimba-wood-will-celebrate/ Some sources I know suggest that the judge and attorney also know each other outside of court and have a friendly working relationship.
Transcript of the letter (the text was fuzzy in places and my Yiddish is poor, so please be forgiving of any transcription errors; no footnote was included for the Latin, but Google tells me that in limine refers to a motion made at the beginning of a trial for a judge’s exclusive ruling out of hearing of the jury – it seems to be used rather casually in this context): [Two page typed letter with a handwritten note on the last page.] [Law office letterhead for Bennett M. Epstein, official court stamps, misc fax numbers] [Date and the Hon. Kimba M. Wood’s court address] [Relevant case number] Dear Judge Wood: I represent Mark Barnett in the above matter, which is scheduled for trial beginning November 29th. Please consider this letter as an application in limine for a brief recess in the middle of the trial on the grounds known (perhaps not now, but hereafter) as a “writ of possible simcha [footnote 1: Yiddish (and Hebrew) for “celebration of a happy event”]”. The facts are as follows: My beautiful daughter, Eva, married and with a doctorate no less, and her husband, Ira Greenberg (we like him, too) live in Philadelphia and are expecting their first child on December 3rd, tfu tfu tfu [footnote 2: Another Yiddishism, found in other cultures as well, that requires we spit to ward off the “evil eye” when discussing an upcoming simcha]. They do not know whether it will be a boy or a girl, although from the oval shape of Eva’s tummy, many of the friends and family are betting male (whihc I think is a mere bubbameiseh [footnote 3: As you may have already guessed, Yiddish for “old wive’s tale”. A “mere bubbameiseh” is somewhat less reliable] but secretly hope is true). should the child be a girl, not much will happen in the way of public celebration. Some may even be disappointed, but will do their best to conceal this by saying, “as long as it’s a healthy baby”. My wife will run to Philly immediately, but I will probably be able to wait until the next weekend. There will be happiness, though muted, and this application will be mooted as well. However, should the baby be a boy, then hoo hah [footnote 4: Yiddish for “a big fuss”]! Hordes of friends and family will arrive from around the globe and descend on Philadephia for the joyous celebration mandated by the halacha [footnote 5: Jewish law (citation omitted)] to take place during daylight hours on the eighth day, known as the bris [footnote 6: Hebrew for “covenant”, for the Covenant of Abraham. i.e., ritual circumcision, joyous to everyone except, apparently, the baby.]. The eighth day after December 3rd could be right in the middle of the trial. My presence at the bris is not strictly commanded, although my absence will never be forgotten by those that matter. So please consider this an application for maybe, tfu tfu tfu, a day off during the trial, if the foregoing occurs on a weekday. I will let the Court (and the rest of the world) know as soon as I do, and promise to bring pictures. Very truly yours, [signature] Bennett M. Epstein. cc: All counsel [The final portion is a handwritten note written in the blank space at the end of the second page of the letter.] Mr. Epstein will be permitted to attend the bris, in the joyous even that a son is born. But the Court would like to balance the scales. If a daughter is born, there will be a public celebration in Court, with readings from poetry celebrating girls and women. [Date and judge’s signature.]
Guh. Please also forgive typos – I did it up in Notepad and didn’t check through carefully enough before posting.
Usually LurkingSome sources I know suggest that the judge and attorney also know each other outside of court and have a friendly working relationship. That makes a lot of sense. The footnotes seemed to be almost familiar jokes (in tone not content) which doesn’t make any sense if they don’t know each other well.
A circumcision? A premeditated physical assault with planned shedding of blood? The judge ought to be telling the parents that they’ll be in the slammer immediately if this proceeds as planned. If they say it’s their right to exercise their religion, tell ’em to come in with the kid’s signature on a consent form–would it be according to his religion?
Tei Tetua Circumcision is a medical procedure. Parents have every right to put their children through medical procedures, even if unnecessary as long as the doctor agrees.
I am actually not a big fan of circumcision either, but that’s not what this thread is about. So please move it along. Thanks.
Michael: Circumcision is a medical procedure. Parents have every right to put their children through medical procedures, even if unnecessary as long as the doctor agrees. Michael As much as I think that Tei Tetua’s comment was off the mark, please be aware that what you have just described also includes, by many people’s definition, “sex” assignment surgery, which is perpetrated on intersex infants as well as infants who don’t fit prescribed physiological “norms” in misogynistic and transphobic and generally busted ways.
Thank you for bringing that to my attention. You are right. And you are right, Tei Tetua is way off the mark.
hm. i think this is threatening to derail, but i have to throw my two cents in about circumcision. there’s a difference between medical procedure and cosmetic surgery. evidence based medicine does not support circumcision as necessary or even beneficial. of course it’s the parents’ legal right to make decisions for their child. they can also take it to get its ears pierced, but that won’t be medically necessary, either. but, again, probably not relevant to topic. on topic : this is beautiful!
Josephine E: they can also take it to get its ears pierced, but that won’t be medically necessary, either. Exactly. I’m quite relieved my ears were pierced at such a young age. ::shudders:: And good catch, Jadey, though I see what Michael was going for. I don’t want to get off topic so that’s all I’ll say. I kind of hope it’s a girl, just for the Court.
But wait, Judge Wood is the same judge that signed the order taking down Limewire and Acquisition for copyright infringement. http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2010/10/27/judge-kimba-wood-orders-limewire-to-shutdown/ http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/11/judge-kimba-wood-standing-up-for-women/66810/
Elisa: But wait, Judge Wood is the same judge that signed the order taking down Limewire and Acquisition for copyright infringement. And again with the derails.
Seriously. This post is not about every decision Wood has ever made. It is not about circumcision. It is definitely not about Limewire. So let’s stay on topic.
I’m amused that an actual real court case might be interrupted by readings of poetry by girls and women. And I think that would be awesome. Hoo hah!
So if someone is getting a barrel of laughs out of something that you think is pretty repulsive, what do you do? Pretend to join in the merriment and grind your teeth? Out of politeness, say nothing? “I don’t like racism but this story about people in the legal profession sharing racist notes is just so cute I have to share it.” Move it along, huh. Move it OUT.
I like the strategy employed by some blogs of setting up a separate open thread when tangential issues come up that threaten to derail the original thread but are worthy of discussion in their own right.
That is a good response, but I still think it’s transphobic to presume you know the kid’s gender as soon as it’s born. You can say it’s probably a boy or probably a girl (assuming no obvious intersex conditions), but most parents won’t acknowledge that they might be wrong, which is seriously cissexist and supports transphobia, isolation, closeting, etc.
it’s worth noting that there are complementary ceremonies that have been developed at the urging of the more egalitarian movements in judaism for baby girls. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeved_habat
I’m pretty sure the reason for needing time off for a boy but not for a girl is that the bris ceremony for a boy is almost always done when the boy is eight days old, so that could easily fall on a weekday. There’s no particular day when the girl ceremonies are supposed to be done, so most people schedule them for a weekend when the baby is a few weeks old, so that more people will be able to attend without taking time off from work.
Ruchama: I’m pretty sure the reason for needing time off for a boy but not for a girl is that the bris ceremony for a boy is almost always done when the boy is eight days old, so that could easily fall on a weekday. There’s no particular day when the girl ceremonies are supposed to be done, so most people schedule them for a weekend when the baby is a few weeks old, so that more people will be able to attend without taking time off from work. (Quote this comment?) Absolutely. The sexism here, though, isn’t in that he would only need time off work if it’s a boy. It’s logical; if the kid is a girl, he can go see her even earlier than the 8-day mark by just going as soon as a weekend is available. If it’s a boy, there’s a specific day; that is not necessarily sexist. So it’s not the potential time-off request that is sexist, it’s his tone that is sexist. In fact “tone” isn’t even the right term, it’s the emotion behind that tone; a girl would be, you know, nice and all, but a boy would be joyous, cause for celebration, a wonderous thing!