Mass Law Blog

So Much for Early Retirement

by | Sep 26, 2006

Courts. Judge Jack B. Weinstein is a legend in the federal judicial system. A district court judge from 1967 to 1993, he has been on “senior status” (but with a full case load) for the last 13 years. Yesterday, this 85 year old judge issued one of the longest decisions ever published: the 540 page decision certifying a class action in Schwab v. Philip Morris USA, a case alleging that smokers were defrauded into believing that “light” cigarettes were less dangerous than regular cigarettes.

A link to this exhaustive and carefully reasoned decision, which may be the most significant by Judge Weinstein in his forty years on the bench, is here. Proponents of “early retirement” should take a look.