Sunday, April 19, 2009
Man on a mission: Baruch Weiss and the search for justice
A federal prosecutor typically spends no more than half a dozen years with the government before graduating to private practice, where the prospect of serious money beckons.
Baruch Weiss did not follow that well-worn career path, and those who know him are not surprised.
Shortly after graduating cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1981 -- first abandoning Harvard Medical School when he discovered he didn't really want to be a doctor -- Weiss was hired by Rudolph Giuliani to fight crime under the auspices of the U.S. Attorney's Office that has jurisdiction over New York City.
He stayed for 18 years, then put in four more years with the feds in Washington before joining a prestigious law firm in D.C.
In remarks at his going-away party in New York in 2002, Weiss -- who has since made his name representing two Jewish clients in headline-grabbing criminal cases -- presented a personal manifesto of sorts.
It offered an insight into why he became a prosecutor, why he stayed so long and perhaps why he is routinely described in terms not always associated with up-and-coming Washington lawyers: idealistic, unassuming, loyal, a mensch.
Weiss' friend and neighbor, John Donvan, a correspondent with ABC's "Nightline," has referred to him, without a hint of irony, as "the classiest man in Washington."
Weiss told his colleagues at his 2002 sendoff that he remembered holding the hand of his father, a Holocaust survivor, as they walked to synagogue on Shabbat in Manhattan decades ago.
"When he would pass a policeman, he would almost involuntarily squeeze my hand," Weiss, now 52, recalled in a recent interview. "He was obviously very stressed, even though he had taught us that the policeman is your friend. I sensed from this that he could never rid himself of the view that law enforcement and the uniform were vehicles for the worst kind of evil ever visited on mankind."
One reason Weiss became a prosecutor, it eventually dawned on him, was to demonstrate to his father that government could be a force for good, that in America, decent and dedicated public servants -- Jews and non-Jews alike -- proudly work to ensure that the rule of law prevails, not the whim of demagogues.
"So I went to the U.S. Attorney's Office and I stayed," he continued in his interview. "I was surrounded by people who really did the right thing. They became friends, good friends. I felt a comfort level right away. And I think that vindicated my view about what this country is."
The Bible famously commands, "Justice, justice you shall pursue," which is often interpreted to mean that one must seek righteous ends through righteous means.
"I think Baruch personifies that," said Nobel laureate and author Elie Wiesel, who has known Weiss since he was a child.
That biblical imperative continues to drive Weiss, according to friends and colleagues, even though his venue for pursuing justice has changed and he now occupies much snazzier office space than ever.
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/04/19/1004464/man-on-a-mission-baruch-weiss-and-the-search-for-justice
Baruch Weiss did not follow that well-worn career path, and those who know him are not surprised.
Shortly after graduating cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1981 -- first abandoning Harvard Medical School when he discovered he didn't really want to be a doctor -- Weiss was hired by Rudolph Giuliani to fight crime under the auspices of the U.S. Attorney's Office that has jurisdiction over New York City.
He stayed for 18 years, then put in four more years with the feds in Washington before joining a prestigious law firm in D.C.
In remarks at his going-away party in New York in 2002, Weiss -- who has since made his name representing two Jewish clients in headline-grabbing criminal cases -- presented a personal manifesto of sorts.
It offered an insight into why he became a prosecutor, why he stayed so long and perhaps why he is routinely described in terms not always associated with up-and-coming Washington lawyers: idealistic, unassuming, loyal, a mensch.
Weiss' friend and neighbor, John Donvan, a correspondent with ABC's "Nightline," has referred to him, without a hint of irony, as "the classiest man in Washington."
Weiss told his colleagues at his 2002 sendoff that he remembered holding the hand of his father, a Holocaust survivor, as they walked to synagogue on Shabbat in Manhattan decades ago.
"When he would pass a policeman, he would almost involuntarily squeeze my hand," Weiss, now 52, recalled in a recent interview. "He was obviously very stressed, even though he had taught us that the policeman is your friend. I sensed from this that he could never rid himself of the view that law enforcement and the uniform were vehicles for the worst kind of evil ever visited on mankind."
One reason Weiss became a prosecutor, it eventually dawned on him, was to demonstrate to his father that government could be a force for good, that in America, decent and dedicated public servants -- Jews and non-Jews alike -- proudly work to ensure that the rule of law prevails, not the whim of demagogues.
"So I went to the U.S. Attorney's Office and I stayed," he continued in his interview. "I was surrounded by people who really did the right thing. They became friends, good friends. I felt a comfort level right away. And I think that vindicated my view about what this country is."
The Bible famously commands, "Justice, justice you shall pursue," which is often interpreted to mean that one must seek righteous ends through righteous means.
"I think Baruch personifies that," said Nobel laureate and author Elie Wiesel, who has known Weiss since he was a child.
That biblical imperative continues to drive Weiss, according to friends and colleagues, even though his venue for pursuing justice has changed and he now occupies much snazzier office space than ever.
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/04/19/1004464/man-on-a-mission-baruch-weiss-and-the-search-for-justice
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