Chief Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
1996
Citation:
Through your nearly four decades of varied experience in both the private and public sector, you have made substantial contributions to the legal and judicial professions. You have been a scholar and an educator of distinction, and your dynamic leadership has earned you widespread acclaim. You have served admirably with prestigious professional organization, including the American Bar Association, the American Inn of Court Foundation, the Federal Bar Association, the Judicial Conference of the United States, The Michigan State Bar Association, the United States Department of Justice, and numerous others. You are also a notable contributor to judicial and legal literature in various professional journals and publications. Your wise leadership as chairman of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission during the tumultuous years of the late 1960s and early 1970s led to an abiding concern for the equitable administration of justice, as well as civic and professional services, to all members of society. This concern has been evidenced not only through your legal and judicial work, but through your participation in dozens of civic and community organizations, including the Detroit Medical Center, Georgetown University Law Center, Hutzel Hospital, the NAACP, the ACLU, the American Heart Association, Child and Family services of Michigan, the Detroit Urban League, the Oakland Youth Symphony, and many others. You were instrumental in establishing Michigan's first chapter of the American Inn of Court at the University's Law School in 1984, bringing together the bench and bar to model excellence in advocacy and ethics for our students. Your vision for civility and professionalism in the practice of law has been a positive influence for our students and the larger legal community. Your outstanding achievements and personal dedication to the advancement of justice have earned you numerous awards and accolades from such distinguished organizations as the Michigan State Bar, the State of Michigan Senate and House of Representatives, Georgetown University, the Wolverine and Detroit Bar Association, the NAACP, Penn State University, Oakland University, and the Pontiac Urban League. In recognition of your longstanding professional integrity and exceptional contributions to the citizens of Michigan and the United States, the University of Detroit Mercy is pleased to present you with an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree. Commencement, University of Detroit Mercy, School of Law, May 12, 1996.