For What it’s Worth: Warren Hecht

On the July 19 edition of “Meet the Press,” Chuck Todd asked Rep. James Clyburn about the last conversation he had with Rep. John Lewis, who passed away last Friday. They discussed why the movement we commonly refer to as the civil rights movement in the 1960s did not accomplish as much as they would have liked, since it was taken away from them and the narrative was turned to “Burn Baby Burn.” He was not referring to the 1976 song with the title “Disco Inferno”; it was the burning of parts of many cities in the United States by those who claimed that they were upset with the state of race relations in the county. Clyburn and Lewis were also concerned that the current movement for racial justice is being hijacked by requests to defund the police.

A good litigator, whether a trial attorney or an appellate attorney, can recognize the weaknesses in his case and be prepared to deal with them. One of the mistakes that some lawyers make is they become so enamored with their case that they believe they cannot lose, and find out the hard way that they were wrong. One of the skills taught in law school is the ability to recognize legal issues in a fact pattern and be able to present arguments on both sides as to how a court should rule.

Before I comment on the main point of my column, I want to give an update to last week’s Queens Jewish Link article. I criticized the politicization of sports, referencing the National Football League and the National Basketball Association and called for a boycott. You can now add the WNBA to the list. After I wrote my article, Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler, who is a part-owner of the Atlanta Dream of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), argued against politicizing the game and gave an alternative of putting an American flag on every jersey. The WNBA is planning to have Black Lives Matter on warm-up jerseys, each with the name of a woman killed by police, and Black Lives Matter printed on the court.

There is so much craziness going on in the country, it is hard to know where to begin. On Friday, June 19, Attorney General William Barr put out a press release that the United States Attorney for the Southern District, Geoffrey S. Berman, had resigned. This was news to Berman. He responded to Barr that he wasn’t going anywhere. After a day of dueling emails, Berman agreed to leave on the condition that his deputy be appointed as the interim United States Attorney. Barr and the president have pointed fingers at each other for forcing Berman out. Barr said that the president fired Berman, and Trump said it was Barr’s idea and he had nothing to do with it.

Professional sports has made a lot of individuals extraordinarily rich. If you compare it with professions such as healthcare workers who save lives and teachers who educate our children, the numbers are striking.

On Sunday, June 14, I took advantage of the nice weather and rode the North and South County and Putnam Country bike trails. The South Trail starts in Yonkers and the Putnam trail ends in Brewster. It is a short drive to get to and there is ample parking along the route. I would recommend the North County and Putnam County parts of the path, since it’s newly paved and has nicer scenery. While I was in the middle of my bike ride, I saw two teenagers walking, one of whom was carrying a sign stating, “Black Lives Matter.” A few hours later in Carmel, New York, I heard the song “Blowin’ in the Wind,” and saw a small group protesting. “Blowin’ in the Wind” was written and sung by Bob Dylan aka Robert Zimmerman in 1963. The song was made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary. It’s the 1960s all over again.