Richard H. Bernstein

Richard H. Bernstein (born November 9, 1974) is an American lawyer and Michigan Supreme Court Justice. He practiced at The Law Offices of Sam Bernstein, his father's law office, in Farmington Hills, Michigan, before being elected to the Michigan Supreme Court. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan and served on the Wayne State University Board of Governors for one eight-year term, including two years as vice chair and two more as chair until deciding not to seek re-election in 2010 for a second term beginning in 2011. In November 2014, Bernstein was elected to serve an 8-year term on the Michigan Supreme Court. Bernstein has been classified as legally blind since birth as a result of retinitis pigmentosa. Educational background Bernstein attended Andover High School in the Bloomfield Hills School District of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In 1996, he received his Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from the University of Michigan, where he was Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi and student body president of the College of Literature, Science and Arts. For the ability to enter Northwestern University School of Law, Bernstein fought the Law School Admissions Council against the "visual bias" of the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), claiming the test discriminates against the blind because of its requirements for interpreting visual material. He argued the test was no barometer of success in law school. Four universities agreed: Northwestern University, the University of Virginia, the University of Wisconsin and Vanderbilt University. At the time he was admitted, he was the only blind person in the law school. To complete his studies, Bernstein would memorize lectures and have notes read to him to memorize. For tests, he memorized test questions and entire fact patterns (the basis for the questions), some of which would be as long as 5 pages. The fact patterns would be repeatedly read to him until he committed the entire question to memory and could then provide an answer. He reportedly worked seven days a week for 13 hours each day.