Steven Robert Plotkin, a New Orleans lawyer who served as a judge, teacher, leader in the Jewish community and three-time marathoner, died Monday at his New Orleans home of complications of mesothelioma, his son Louis “Lee” Plotkin said. He was 89.

Plotkin’s legal career included 24 years as a judge -- 10 years on the Civil District Court bench and 14 years on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal. He stepped down as a judge in 2002, but stayed active by becoming a mediator, arbitrator and legal consultant in cases involving complex litigation. He served four years as a special discovery major in complex cases.

“He was a scrappy Jewish kid from the wrong side of the tracks who climbed to the top of the legal profession,” he said.

While he was a judge, Plotkin was host for 15 years of “It’s th

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