When Paul M. Rosenberg prosecuted bank robbery cases in Baltimore, he sometimes acted out the crime for the jury.

Stephanie Hopkins, a federal courtroom deputy who worked with Rosenberg when he was an assistant U.S. attorney, remembered him showing jurors how the robberies happened. Once, Rosenberg acted out how a robber had jumped over a bank counter.

“I can still see him leaping over the banister,” Hopkins wrote in an online condolence. “The memories I have of him will always bring a smile to my face.”

Rosenberg later brought that strong personality, knowledge of the law and sense of fairness to the federal bench. He served as a U.S. magistrate judge in Baltimore from 1973 to 1998. He was known as a tough but thoughtful judge who was clearly in charge of his courtroom.

Rosenberg died on May 15 in Pikesville from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 89.

Chief Judge George L. Russell III of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland called Rosenberg a “legendary figure” at the federal courthouse. He presided in Courtroom 2D for many years.

He was “no-nonsense, but fair and kind,” Russell wrote on behalf of the court.

Rosenberg’s daughter, Michelle Ressin, said lawyers remembered his strong voice, his presence and his knowledge of the law.

“He was definitely in charge of his courtroom,” she said. “He was very fair and knowledgeable — but tough.”

He also liked to have the last word outside the courthouse.

“He pretty much had that personality 24/7,” Ressin said. “His word was always right. He had the last word.”

But Rosenberg also had a colorful side, especially when it came to clothes.

He owned more than 300 ties and 80 pairs of shoes, his daughter said. Even his exercise clothes stood out. He wore pants covered with skulls and others patterned like the American flag.

His interest in clothing began as a young teenager. He worked as a stock boy in a cousin’s men’s clothing store in downtown Baltimore.

At his retirement ceremony, Rosenberg sat on the bench in the usual black robe. At the end, he unzipped it to show a purple judicial robe underneath. Then he raised his gavel and struck it once.

Rosenberg was raised in Baltimore by Sylvia Rosenberg, a homemaker, and H. Harry Rosenberg, an attorney known for helping people who could not afford a lawyer. His father died when Rosenberg was still a young man and did not live to see him practice law.

Rosenberg attended the University of Maryland for college and law school.

Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he worked as a probation officer and briefly in the public defender’s office. He believed prisons often failed to prepare people for life after their release.

Rosenberg joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore in 1964. He worked there until he became a magistrate judge in 1973.

He handled many bank robbery cases, including one the family remembered as the case of the “gold tooth bandit.”

Preparing for trials took up his evenings and weekends. He came home with briefs that ran thousands of pages and read late into the night, his daughter said. At one point, he took a speed-reading course.

As a magistrate judge, Rosenberg handled criminal cases, set bail and issued search warrants. Federal agents sometimes came to the family home at 2 or 3 a.m. to ask him to approve a search.

“He was so knowledgeable,” Ressin said. “And fair.”

She said people could see him sitting quietly and thinking before he made a decision.

He listened, prepared carefully and knew the law. His rulings could be firm, but they were not rushed or careless.

Rosenberg also mentored younger lawyers. At the family’s shiva, an elderly lawyer arrived with an aide. He wanted Rosenberg’s children to know how much their father’s help had meant when he was beginning his career decades earlier.

Away from court, Rosenberg loved Baltimore sports. He followed the Orioles and Ravens and held season tickets for Ravens and University of Maryland football games.

When his children were young, he took them to Orioles games, movies and shows. He taught them to play sports and took the family on vacations.

Ressin keeps a framed photograph of herself and her father wearing Ravens clothing.

He also enjoyed movies, theater, concerts, restaurants and shopping. His granddaughter Amanda sometimes joined him on shopping trips. He also enjoyed spending time with his two grandsons, Zachary and Ben.

Rosenberg exercised almost every day and had a lifetime membership at a gym in the former Pikesville Hilton. He lifted weights and spent so much time talking with other members that he became known as the “mayor of the gym.”

“He was in fabulous shape,” Ressin said.

Rosenberg grew up in a Jewish home. His mother prepared Shabbat dinner every Friday. His older brother, Rabbi Roy Rosenberg, later led a Reform congregation in New York.

Rosenberg was not observant as an adult, but he enjoyed listening to rabbis’ sermons, especially when they discussed public affairs.

He met his future wife, Gabriela “Gaby” Goldmann, outside Chizuk Amuno’s former synagogue building. Rosenberg was standing on the steps when he saw her walking along the sidewalk.

According to the family story, he took one look at her and knew they would date and marry.

They were married for 52 years.

Ressin said her parents had different personalities, but Rosenberg valued his wife and respected her opinion. After he retired, they traveled with friends, took cruises and visited relatives on Marco Island, Florida.

Gaby Rosenberg died about 16 years before her husband. Her death changed him.

“He never got over her death,” Ressin said. “Before my mom died, he was a very vibrant, active man.”

Nearly three decades after Rosenberg retired, former colleagues, lawyers, clerks and courthouse employees attended his funeral and shared stories with his family.

They remembered a man who could be tough, colorful and certain of himself, but who earned respect through his knowledge, preparation and fairness.

“He was very well respected,” Ressin said.

Ellen Braunstein is a freelance obituary writer. She welcomes suggestions for individuals who had meaningful ties to the Baltimore Jewish community. Email csix@midatlanticmedia.com.