By Jon Marks
Jules Mermelstein says we shouldn’t be surprised with what’s happening in Washington these days, where interpretation of the Constitution and the law seem to be at the discretion of whoever’s in power.
That’s because it’s been going on the same way nearly the entire 250 years of this country’s existence.
And the man who first became interested in the Constitution in eighth grade at Sandy Run Middle School in Dresher and has pursued that interest ever since while at the same time maintaining a variety of professional careers, should know. Having served 19 years as an Upper Dublin commissioner, having worked as an attorney for years, before turning to teaching social studies at Upper Dublin High School for six years before health issues forced him out, he’s now passing that knowledge on to older adults and seniors as part of Upper Dublin Public Library’s Adult Discovery and Learning series.
While wearing a kippah everyday. “Ever since the (2018 Pittsburgh) Tree of Life shooting that’s when I put it on,” said Mermelstein, who grew up attending Reform Temple Judea where he was bar-mitzvahed, but has gone on to become a longtime congregant at Reconstructionist Or Hadash in Oreland, “I did it then as a bleep you to white supremacists.
‘At the time I was bald because I shaved my head and had blue eyes. I didn’t want them to confuse me as one of them. Now it’s just comforting to wear the kippah.”
As for the Constitution, the lesson he teaches is the same one he learned decades ago.
“One thing I tell my classes all the time is the same thing that learned in constitutional law school and our professor repeated almost every day,” revealed Mermelstein, who after graduating from Temple’s Ambler campus, received his law degree from American University in Washington, D.C. “The Constitution means what a majority of the Supreme Court says it means.
“That’s the way our system works. That’s held true since the founding of the country. It’s up to the judiciary to interpret the laws and interpret the Constitution. So if they say this is what it means, that’s what it means.”
While that may explain the current state of affairs, it’s simply continuing a long trend. “I’ve told my class that I feel like conservative lawyers probably felt like during the 1960s, when the Supreme Court was saying certain defendants get these rights and they have to be told their rights,” said Mermelstein, whose interest in law and becoming a criminal defense lawyer started after watching Richard Nixon attempt to prosecute Vietnam War protesters. “Then they interpreted it more in a progressive manner, and now they’re interpreting it more in a conservative manner.
“It’s their right. I don’t agree with them. I would interpret it differently, but let’s not say that they don’t have the right to do that.
“That’s why they give them lifetime tenure, so they didn’t have to answer to any political means. They could just judge based on what they think the law means.”
What has changed is the way those three branches of government operate. “The founders thought they had a great plan because they thought people would naturally protect their powers,” said Mermelstein, who actually first ran for office as Democratic committeeman, before he was eligible to vote. ”So they separated them and figured Congress would always keep their powers and wouldn’t let the executive or judicial take their powers and judicial wouldn’t let the executive or legislative take their powers.”
Mermelstein began teaching at the library in 2022, when asked by Dan Shoulberg, who runs the education program. “Jules understands the Constitution backwards and forwards,” said Shoulberg, who first met him when Shoulberg was teaching a current events class at Temple Ambler. “You might not necessarily agree with all of his political views.
“But he’s a smart guy who understands the Constitution. That’s the most important thing.
“I can’t speak highly enough of Jules’ integrity and, and his knowledge. He’s a mensch.“
A mensch who once even left his full-time job as a lawyer to become a stay-at-home dad.
“I was a managing attorney at a local firm and was hardly home at night,” explained Jules, who met his future wife, Ruth, whom he married when both were teenagers at Sandy Run. “My daughter, Hannah, was 5 1/2 at the time when my wife told me that she was going to bed crying that Daddy’s not home.
“Back then lawyers didn’t make as much as they do now. So we switched. My wife found a job for 36 hours a week as a computer programmer that was paying about 50% more than I was making.
“She became the full-time breadwinner, and I spent time taking care of the kids.”
That family commitment still resonates with Ruth. “I don’t know how he had a full-time job and did so much stuff on the side — and maintained relationships,” said his wife, who crochets Jules’ kippot. “You see the stereotype of these husbands that just abandon their families for their careers and play golf.
“He didn’t do that. Even now after him being so sick for so long the fact he’s still doing so much stuff is surprising.”
Eventually Mermelstein went back to his hectic schedule, for years maintaining three positions between his time as Upper Dublin commissioner, high school teacher and teacher for Or Hadash’s Confirmation class.
But when those health issues forced him to cut back. the man who’s been blogging and writing legal thriller reviews for years wrote his first novel. “Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue,” the title coming straight from the Torah.
“I know it’s in Deuteronomy when they repeat things and then it’s earlier, maybe Exodus,” said Mermelstein, whose home is filled with various Jewish art and artifacts. “It’s God commanding the Jews: ‘Here’s the things you need to do with in your relationships with other people.’
“It’s one of my favorite parts of Torah. The book is about a Jewish lawyer who pursues justice even if he has to violate the law to do it, so it turns into it’s a legal thriller.”
As for what’s next for the man who’s currently president of the local retired teachers association and vice president of the Friends of the Library, will have to wait and see, hoping his health holds up. But come June 1 he’ll be teaching a four-week course on America’s Foundational Documents at the library’s current home during renovations, Bethlehem Baptist Church in Ambler.
As always, eager to get his “students’ thoughts. “When I was teaching high school, my students knew they could get me what they considered off topic by bringing up current events,” recalled Mermelstein, who has had a longtime relationship with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro going back decades. “I considered that was perfectly on topic for teaching U.S. history or government.
“But I always do things differently,”
In other words, like the Constitution he holds so dear, Jules Mermelstein hasn’t changed a bit.
Jon Marks is a freelance writer.