Bris Attendance Is Basis For Continuance, But Ruling Goes Further.

     Let us wish all of our readers a happy and joyous Thanksgiving as well as blessings on our men and women in the service (both in the U.S. and overseas).

     Now, for an interesting request made to and subsequent order from U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood of the Southern District of New York.

     In United States v. Lacey, an attorney representing one of the defendants made a letter application to Judge Woods requesting a brief one-day recess in the middle of trial based on grounds the attorney dubbed as a “writ of possible simcha.” (Simcha is Yiddish for “celebration of a happy event.”) The grounds for the simcha writ request were that attorney’s daughter and son-in-law were expecting a baby soon and, if it happened to be a boy, he would like to be excused to attend the bris (the ritualistic circumcision or Covenant of Abraham--joyous to everyone but the baby, apparently) because this is a hoo hah (big fuss) event. The attorney promised to bring pictures if the one day recess was granted.

     So what was the ruling on the “writ of simcha”? We quote Judge Woods’ written, equitably-based ruling in full: “Mr. Epstein will be permitted to attend the bris, in the joyous event that a son is born. But the Court would like to balance the scales. If a daughter is born, there will be a public celebration in Court, with readings from poetry celebrating girls and women.”

     Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!