Richard H. Bernstein is an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court based in Lansing, Michigan. He is known as the court’s first blind justice and for decades of advocacy advancing disability rights and equal access.
A Different Kind of Endurance
On marathon mornings, the world narrows to rhythm and breath. Footsteps echo against pavement. A guide runs nearby, keeping pace. For Richard H. Bernstein, distance has long been more than athletic challenge. It has been a measure of discipline, resilience, and memory.
He has completed 27 marathons across cities including Detroit, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem. He has taken on Ironman competitions that demand a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a full marathon without pause. In 2012, after a cyclist struck him in Central Park and shattered the left side of his body, he spent three months in the hospital. Within a year, he returned to marathon training and crossed another finish line in 2013.
The physical repetition mirrors another kind of endurance. Since January 1, 2015, Bernstein has served as an associate justice on the Michigan Supreme Court. He was elected in November 2014, becoming the first blind justice in the court’s history. Legally blind since birth due to retinitis pigmentosa, he has built a career that challenges assumptions about limitation and access.
The stamina required to memorize five page fact patterns in law school and the stamina required to run 26.2 miles appear, in his life, as parts of the same discipline.
Fighting the Visual Bias
Long before he took his seat on the bench in Lansing, Bernstein was testing institutions.
Born November 9, 1974, in Detroit, he attended Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. At the University of Michigan, he graduated summa cum laude in 1996, earning a Bachelor of Arts while serving as student body president of the College of Literature, Science and Arts. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi.
Law school presented a different barrier. To enter Northwestern University School of Law, Bernstein challenged the Law School Admission Council over what he described as a visual bias in the LSAT. He argued that the exam’s reliance on interpreting visual material discriminated against blind applicants and did not measure potential for success in law school.
Four universities agreed to admit him without requiring the standard format of the test, including Northwestern University. At the time of his admission, he was the only blind student in the law school.
The work required to keep pace was relentless. Lectures were memorized. Notes were read aloud until they were committed to memory. Exam questions and multi page fact patterns were absorbed through repetition, sometimes read again and again until every detail was fixed in place. He worked seven days a week, often for 13 hours each day. In 1999, he received his Juris Doctor.
That period shaped the pattern of his career. Systems could be challenged. Access could be negotiated. And success could be built through repetition and preparation.
The Law as Access
After graduating, Bernstein joined The Law Offices of Sam Bernstein in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Licensed in Michigan and New York, much of his legal work focused on protecting the rights of people with disabilities, often on a pro bono basis.
In 2004, he represented disabled Detroit residents in a lawsuit against the City of Detroit to repair wheelchair lifts on buses as required by federal law. In 2007, he represented the Paralyzed Veterans of America in an action against the University of Michigan regarding renovations at Michigan Stadium. The case resulted in an agreement to increase accessible seating and companion seats, along with improvements to parking, routes, restrooms, and concessions. A federal judge signed a consent decree formalizing the plan.
The Michigan Stadium agreement added 96 new accessible seats beginning with the 2008 season, expanding to at least 329 by 2010. The improvements were phased in over three years and were described as a model for accessibility in large public venues.
That same year, he filed a lawsuit asserting that Oakland County’s road construction plans failed to provide safe crossing mechanisms for people with visual impairments and others with disabilities at roundabouts. The county later agreed to install equipment that allowed pedestrians to activate traffic signals and receive visual and audio confirmation before crossing.
The cases were specific and practical. They centered on buses, stadium seats, sidewalks, and signals. Yet each carried broader implications about participation in public life.
Public Roles Before the Bench
Bernstein’s public life extended beyond the courtroom.
In 2002, at age 28, he was elected statewide to the Wayne State University Board of Governors. He served one eight year term, including two years as vice chair and two years as chair, concluding in 2010. During his tenure, he led the board in passing a resolution regarding the accessibility of Amazon’s Kindle reader. The resolution urged the company to make the device accessible to blind students and barred its use at Wayne State until it met accessibility standards. Other universities followed with similar decisions. Later that year, Amazon announced plans to add audible menus and larger fonts.
He also taught a political science course on law and social change at the University of Michigan and served as an adjunct professor. In 2010, he sought the Democratic nomination for Michigan Attorney General, running on a platform centered on public advocacy and active litigation. He narrowly lost the party endorsement.
Four years later, he ran for the Michigan Supreme Court and won, receiving 29 percent of the statewide vote and more than 1.29 million votes. He assumed office in January 2015.
The arc from litigator to statewide official to justice reflected a steady widening of scope. Advocacy moved from individual clients to institutional policy and finally to judicial review.
A Body in Motion
Bernstein’s athletic life has unfolded alongside his legal work.
At age 34, he completed the Ironman Triathlon in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in 2008, finishing in 14 hours and 36 minutes. The race required coordination with guides and a willingness to move through water, pavement, and open road without sight.
In 2011, at age 37, he completed the Half Israman triathlon in Eilat, Israel, becoming the first blind competitor in that event. He has run the Detroit Free Press Marathon with Wayne State athletes serving as guides. He has swum in open water and cycled through long courses while relying on others for directional cues.
In 2012, the Central Park accident interrupted that pattern. The injuries were severe. Recovery required months in the hospital. The return to marathon training in 2013 underscored the continuity of effort that has marked his career.
The physical dimension of his life has never appeared separate from his public work. Both demand preparation. Both rely on trust. Both involve navigating spaces not designed with him in mind.
International Advocacy
His advocacy has also taken him abroad.
In 2010, he traveled to Israel through OneFamily Fund in Jerusalem to meet with survivors of terrorist attacks in Sderot. He discussed disability rights and coping with injuries sustained in violence. Later that year, the government of Ecuador invited him to participate in a speaking tour focused on the abilities and achievements of disabled individuals.
He has visited Sydney, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, London, and São Paulo to speak about inclusion in education and athletics. In 2013, he delivered 20 speaking engagements in 10 days across Australia and London. In 2014, he returned to Australia for events including the annual Gawith Lecture and an address at Parliament House in Victoria focused on inclusiveness.
The theme remained consistent across settings: systems can expand to include more people, and participation need not be limited by disability.
On the Michigan Supreme Court
Since joining the Michigan Supreme Court, Bernstein has served as one of its associate justices. The court hears cases that shape state law and interpret statutes affecting millions of residents.
His presence on the bench marked a historic first. It also reflected years of work that preceded the title.
Throughout his career, he has been recognized by legal and community organizations, including Michigan Lawyers Weekly, the State Bar of Michigan, and the University of Michigan. He has received honors related to both his legal advocacy and athletic achievements, including induction into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and recognition from the Michigan Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness.
These accolades follow a trajectory built on incremental change. Accessible buses. Stadium seating. Audible menus. Roundabout signals. Each case altered a corner of daily life.
Why Richard Bernstein Matters Now
Richard Bernstein’s career sits at the intersection of law, disability rights, and public service.
As debates over accessibility and inclusion continue to shape policy, his work provides a long view of how change occurs. It moves through lawsuits and resolutions. It moves through classrooms and governing boards. It moves through finish lines and hospital rooms.
On the Michigan Supreme Court, he occupies a role that once seemed unreachable for someone born legally blind. The path there was neither symbolic nor sudden. It was built case by case, mile by mile.
In a profession that often prizes detachment, his life suggests another model. The work of justice can be informed by lived experience, sustained effort, and a refusal to accept barriers as fixed.
In Michigan, that combination has already altered institutions. The distance traveled continues to shape the court where he now serves.
