UPDATE: From the Blumenfeld family:
On Sunday, May 15, 2022, Jack R. Blumenfeld, loving husband, brother, father and grandfather, passed away at age 79 surrounded by his loved ones.
We ask that you give the family time to grieve during this difficult time.
All of these are tough. Some are harder than others. This one is very hard.
Jack Blumenfeld, one of the old guard criminal defense attorneys who cut his teeth in the 1970s and was there for all of the drug wars that followed, passed away this weekend.
Jack was old school, and that is a badge of honor. He is from a time when lawyers huddled in the hallways, made deals and shook hands and his word was his bond. If the case needed a little extra work, then a drink in a bar was a good way to settle it. And if the case could not be settled, then he tried the case and he was great at it,
There is so much that pains us about the loss of Jack. Part of the loss is that he was a storehouse of knowledge of lawyers and cases most of you have never heard of. But it is under the shade of those trees - the acorns that Jack and his contemporaries planted- that most of you practice law.
Jack was a treasure. As a person and as a lawyer. We are broken hearted by hearing this news. A few weeks ago we spoke with him. He was loving retirement, teaching law to highschoolers. He told us if he knew how much he would enjoy retirement he would have done it years ago. It was someone like Jack who inspired us to go to law school many years ago, and we can see why he would thrive around young people who thirsted for his knowledge and reveled in his war stories- of which there were many.
Jack was a great lawyer. He was a great family man- which was the most important thing to him. And he was a great friend. We shall not see his like again.
Rest in Peace old friend.
When Gerald Kogan passed away, Jack saw fit to email this to Rumpole:
Rumpole, I’m sure that you will get many comments regarding the devastating loss of
Jerry Kogan. Most will come from young and not so young lawyers who practiced before
him on the Circuit Court and/or the Supreme Court. But, there are a few of us older
(guess ancients would be more accurate) who go back to the 60s and 70s with him.
I met him as a young ASA and tried many cases against him, especially as a Major Crimes
prosecutor handling murder cases. Unfailingly, he was brilliant. His closings made you
wonder if you would have voted NG if you were a juror, even when you knew the
defendant was guilty. But, he was also unfailingly a true and consummate professional.
He NEVER made it personal. He treated every lawyer-even
adversaries- with respect. That didn’t change when he took the bench either, as many can
attest. When I decided to leave the SAO, he invited me to practice with him and a year
later made me his first law partner; a junior partner for sure, though he never treated
me as anything but an equal. What an experience!! We got a young law clerk from
UM Law, who seemed to have some promise. His name: Alan Ross.
Can you imagine a better place to practice in those days?
More importantly, I knew him as a human and it was as a human that he excelled.
He was one of the most decent, honest and respectful person I have ever met.
Yes, he was a great lawyer and jurist, but, he should also be remembered as a great husband,
father, brother and friend. He just did life the right way.
Gerald Kogan made you proud you were a lawyer; especially proud to be a criminal defense
lawyer. And he made me thank G d for allowing me to know and associate with him.
Frankly, if we have displayed pictures of some of our colleagues who have left us,
we should dedicate the entire 4th floor in his name!!!
Years ago, I tried a case against Jack Blumenfeld. He did an outstanding job for his client before and during the trial. But through it all, he was not just "opposing counsel," he was also a mentor and very kind person. He never lost sight of the importance of defending his client, but was never spiteful, boastful, rude or arrogant. At the conclusion of the trial, he took the time to write a very nice letter to the State Attorney about the manner in which my trial partner and I handled the case. He was the epitome of a professional: an outstanding lawyer, but an even better person. I imagine his family will miss him very much. RIP Jack.
ReplyDeleteTHE FOLLOWING IS FROM JUDGE HIRSCH WHO INFORMS US HE HAS SOME TECHNICALY DIFFICULTIES IN POSTING COMMENTS
ReplyDeleteI remember Jack Blumenfeld. Of course, over the course of four decades you get to remember a lot of lawyers.
I remember lawyers who were angry. There were always lawyers who were angry. There were defense lawyers who were angry at prosecutors, and there were prosecutors who were angry at defense lawyers and their defendants.
I remember lawyers who were greedy. There were always lawyers who were greedy. It isn’t nice to remember it, but there were lawyers in this town who practiced criminal law because once upon a time you could make a lot of money in this town practicing criminal law.
And I remember lawyers who were happy. There were always lawyers who were happy. They were happy to play a part in a justice system in which we could actually play a part. They were happy to go to trial all the time, and they were happy to win some of the time. Yes, they were happy to make a buck. But they were happy to make a difference.
Jack Blumenfeld was happy to be a criminal lawyer. He was happy, and he was good at it, and he was nice about it. I knew him for forty years, and I shared space with him for many years, and all the memories I have of him are of his being happy to practice criminal law, and good at practicing criminal law, and nice about the way he practiced criminal law.
Juries liked Jack. He had what the great Edward Bennett Williams called “affidavit quality.” He conveyed the impression that, whatever the facts and whatever the case, at least he was a decent guy. He conveyed that impression because he was a decent guy. Juries can tell.
As the cliche goes, Jack left the profession better than he found it. I wish I could throw in the other cliche, the one about how he’ll never be forgotten, but it doesn’t work that way anymore, if it ever did.
All I can say is that he’ll never be forgotten by me.
Eloquent description of a kind of lawyer we should all aspire to be.RIP
DeleteJack's vocation and avocation were the same--he loved trying cases, he loved watching other
ReplyDeletelawyers try cases, and he loved teaching others to try cases. He was generous with his time, and exulted in his friends victories as well as his own.
Jack was just amazing. If you could think of it in criminal defense he had done it and he had several war stories about it. He was a joy to work with at Regional. He had gravitas and a sneaky smile that let you know he was enjoying himself. We had some wars when I was a prosecutor and I am a better lawyer for it. He loved his family and loved to brag about his grandchildren and that twinkle in his eye made it worth while. He knew more about the people and characters in the Justice Building than just about anyone else I knew. When I’d ask him about some old judge I knew as a prosecutor he’d start with stories of them in law school together. Jack was a complete testament to the adage that to be good at what you do you need to love what you do. He was great at what he did. And he loved every minute of it. The privilege of sharing a steak dinner and another drink with him was something I will always remember.
ReplyDeleteWith all these beautiful comments … Ask yourself daily - “How do I want to be remembered?”
ReplyDeleteI can assure you that you will have a day filled with LOVE, KINDNESS and COMPASSION. And - not a day of fighting, hating, negative thoughts, jealousy, showing off or filled with worrying and obsessive fear.
Let’s ALL try to be better. Yes?
Sometimes your prose drives me crazy along with your politics, but that note that you wrote about Jack Blumenfeld was one of the finest obits that I have read. I am sorry for your loss.
ReplyDeleteTouching eulogy. May his memory be a blessing. I wish I could write like you.
ReplyDeleteI wish these obits would post a photo of the person. I met him but, without a photo, I'm not sure who passed away.
ReplyDeleteWhat a genuinely good guy. Always enjoyed having morning coffee with Jack at the Justice Building. Prayers to his family.
ReplyDeleteI was fortunate to spend a short but meaningful period of time working in a suite with Jack. I loved talking to him. I loved his outlook, I loved his stories, I loved who he was. All these years later, I don't remember much of what we talked about except for his grandchildren. When we were together, I had just lost my grandfather with whom I was exceedingly close a year or two before, and it meant so much to me that his grandkids meant so much to him. He was warm and wonderful, just a good soul with an easy smile and without ego. I am sure if we could ask Jack, he would most want to be remembered for how much he loved his family, and that is what I remember most. A true mensch in every sense of the word.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about Jack. He was "old school" when the SAO was much smaller as was the PD. Lawyers like Jack, Eddie O and others would fight like hell in court and after a verdict would go with defense counsel to the old Holiday Inn and have a beer together. Those days are long gone.Jack was a treasure trove of past days. I recall him with Linnae and Happy Magazine practicing law in coconut grove during the cocaine 80s. I will miss him. May his legacy live on.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about Jack. He was "old school" when the SAO was much smaller as was the PD. Lawyers like Jack, Eddie O and others would fight like hell in court and after a verdict would go with defense counsel to the old Holiday Inn and have a beer together. Those days are long gone.Jack was a treasure trove of past days. I recall him with Linnae and Happy Magazine practicing law in coconut grove during the cocaine 80s. I will miss him. May his legacy live on.
ReplyDeleteIt would be hard to be any more eloquent than the folks who have already spoken. He was truly one of the remaining Gerstein gang members who witnessed Richard Gerstein and Gerald Kogan in the Mosler trial. He was a lawyer's lawyer in every sense of the word. Jack could always be found in the cafeteria with a cup of coffee and stories from the past with eager young lawyers gathering around just to hear some of the stories. As I have often stated, it is a shame that REG is such a cold and austere building with no sense of the history that has unfolded over the years. Jack belongs in the Hall of Fame of REG greats who have walked those corridors. Jack should not be forgotten. I will miss him.
ReplyDeleteI first had the opportunity to meet Papa Jack as a young ASA with a case against him. You couldn't ask for a more professional, yet down to earth guy who was a true advocate for his client. An old school defense attorney whose word was his bond and advocated for his clients as hard in the hallways as he did in front of juries.
ReplyDeleteI then reconnected with Jack when we shared office space a few years later. As a newbie to federal court defense work and ever fearful of going into the federal courthouse, Jack would always tell me, "Get a case and we will do it together." I did. The husband and wife defendants we represented didn't have much money, but Jack said, "They may not have a ton of money, but they need our help. But since they don't have a ton of money, you also have to buy lunch every time we go to court. And I can get anything off the menu." Done deal.
Doing that case with Jack was great. Every judge, clerk, court reporter, law enforcement agent and AUSA knew him. Going into court with Jack was like walking into a baseball game with Hank Aaron.
A great teller of stories after hours in the office (especially those 1980's cocaine cowboys days stories). A proud husband, parent and grandparent. But all in all, a great guy who will be dearly missed.