Edwin K. Pincus, who became a State Supreme Court Judge, had once served as one of the 186 delegates at the 1967 New York State Constitutional Convention in 1967. At the New York Constitutional Convention in 1967, items on the agenda included permitting freedom of speech; disallowing the laws that limited the free exercise of religion; forbidding the different forms of discrimination; adding controls to wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping; and authrorizing a lower voting age. There was opposition to several items on the agenda because some leaders were trying to use popular sections of the document to carry unpopular propositions. For example, much hinged on the proporision to repeal Article XI, Section 3 of the existing Constitution known as the "Blaine Amendment" which prohibited state aid to church-related schools; takeover was viewed as adding to the state's indebteness. Nonetheless, the "Blaine Amendment" was repealed. In time, Edwin K. Pincus became a judge. In 1989, he drew criticism because of his decision that "cultural considerations warranted a lighter sentence" for a Chinese immigrant who beat his wife to death. The judge cited "cultural aspects" in sentencing Dong Lu Chen in the murder of his wife, Jian Wan Chen, because of " ... his lack of a record, his remorse, his meek behavior ... and the unlikelihood that he would commit another crime." Judge Pincus also noted the effect of Chen's wife being unfaithful had on someone "born in China, who took all his Chinese customs with him to the United States." Chen was convicted of second degree manslaughter for fatally striking his wife. Judge Pincus acquitted him of second degree murder and first degree manslaughter.
From the description of The Papers of Edwin K. Pincus, 196?-200? (Brooklyn College). WorldCat record id: 503003308
