Justice, Michigan Supreme Court (retired)
1997
Citation:
As a Michigan Appellate judge for three decades, you earned widespread acclaim for your scholarship, humanitarianism and acuity of judgment. Your foresight and clarity of vision were evident from your initial judicial candidacy in 1972, when you formed your own political party to obtain a ballot nomination rather that run under the auspices of either of the existing parties. Further removing yourself from the political process, you acquired subsequent nominations through non-partisan affidavits. Your wise exercise of judicial power throughout your career was exemplary, as was your compassionate and generous concern for the rights and dignity of the individuals whose cases you judged. Through your tireless pursuit of truth and your thorough review of all relevant facts, you earned a reputation as a powerful advocate for the underrepresented. Prior to your career on the bench, you distinguished yourself in private practice as an attorney in New York City and in Detroit. From this beginning throughout your judicial career, you did not avoid unpopular or politically charged cases in the interest of expediency. As a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, you insisted upon adherence to exceptional standards of judicial integrity, frequently preparing well-reasoned dissents to both argued cases and back-page orders. In addition to your service on the Supreme Court, you have maintained professional memberships in the American Judicature Society, the American Law Institute, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the State Bar of Michigan, and the Detroit and American Bar Associations. You were also a member of the Michigan Law Revision Commission of 1966. In recognition of your outstanding professional integrity and your contributions to the Michigan Supreme Court and the people of the State of Michigan, the University of Detroit Mercy is pleased to bestow upon you an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree. Commencement, University of Detroit Mercy, School of Law, May 11, 1997.