Charles C. Bernstein, the first Jewish judge in Arizona history, achieved a national reputation as a juvenile court judge. He ended barefoot desert marches that were used to punish juvenile offenders at Fort Grant, and served on the Awards Jury for the 1968 Freedom Foundation national and school awards. Judge Bernstein also applied the Kent Decree, a source of basic water law in Arizona, to farmland in Maricopa County, and called the first grand jury in Arizona. He served as chairman of the Charter Review Committee that organized the charter government reform movement in Phoenix.
On May 5, 1954, Judge Bernstein ruled that segregation of African-American students in Phoenix's Wilson Elementary School District was a violation of the 14th Amendment. The case was Heard vs. Davis. At the time, the U.S. Supreme Court was preparing to decide Brown v. Board of Education, and the Supreme Court requested a copy of Judge Bernstein's opinion. On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Brown, that the doctrine of "separate, but equal" was unconstitutional.
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1904 |
Born, June 2, in St. Louis, Missouri |
|
1929 |
Received LL.B. from Southwestern University, Los Angeles |
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1930 |
Admitted to Arizona Bar |
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1937-1939 |
Served as Assistant Attorney General for Arizona |
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1940 & 1944 |
Delegate to the Democratic National Convention |
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1946-1948 |
Secretary of the Democratic State Central Committee |
|
1949-1958 |
Appointed and served as Superior Court Judge |
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1954 |
Ruled that segregation of black pupils violated the Constitution |
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1958 |
Elected to Arizona Supreme Court |
|
1959-1969 |
Served on Arizona Supreme Court |
|
1976 |
Died in Phoenix, April 29, at the age of 71 |
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