Nominated to the federal bench by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967, Jack Weinstein estimates that he has heard roughly 25,000 legal cases in his career, touching on everything from discrimination against African-American students to gun manufacturing.

And his decisions have made him "one of the most renowned judges in the history of the federal judiciary," according to a 2013 American Bar Association journal profile of the U.S. District Court judge.

Long known for his judicial activism, Weinstein said he's proud of the influence he has had on the law — no matter how controversial. "Society in this country is constantly changing, so the law has to be adjusted," he said.

He has long crusaded against mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders, while in more recent rulings he has battled what he said were excessive prison sentences for a man who had viewed child pornography.

He still wakes each morning at 5 a.m. so he can exercise (he enjoys swimming in his pool) and make breakfast for his wife before being driven from his home in Long Island, N.Y. to the Brooklyn courthouse.

Weinstein says he has no plans to retire, citing his love for "the excitement of the law" and the opportunity to help people and "occasionally improve society, even if only very modestly."