1. Damon Jerome Keith was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
21 Facts About Damon Keith
1. 2.
Damon Keith then moved on to West Virginia State College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1943.
3.
Damon Keith served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946.
4.
Damon Keith then attended Howard University School of Law where he received a Bachelor of Laws in 1949, and Wayne State University Law School where he received a Master of Laws in 1956.
5.
Damon Keith was in the private practice of law in Detroit from 1950 to 1967.
6.
Damon Keith was an attorney in the Office of the Friend of the Court in Detroit from 1951 to 1955.
7.
In 1964 Damon Keith was elected co-chair of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission with John Feikens and was a key player in the tumultuous times following the Detroit race riots.
8.
Damon Keith married Rachel Boone in 1953 and they had three daughters.
9.
Damon Keith died on April 28,2019, at his home in Detroit, at the age of 96.
10.
At the suggestion of United States Senator Philip Hart, Keith was nominated by President Lyndon B Johnson on September 25,1967, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan vacated by Judge Thomas Patrick Thornton.
11.
Damon Keith was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 12,1967, and received his commission the same day.
12.
Damon Keith served as Chief Judge from 1975 to 1977.
13.
Damon Keith's service was terminated on November 22,1977, due to his elevation to the Sixth Circuit.
14.
Damon Keith was confirmed by the Senate on October 20,1977, and received his commission on October 21,1977.
15.
Damon Keith was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1975 to 1978.
16.
In 1974, Damon Keith was awarded the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP.
17.
In 2008, Damon Keith received an honorary doctorate in law from Harvard University.
18.
In United States v Sinclair, Keith famously ruled that Nixon's Attorney General John N Mitchell had to disclose the transcripts of illegal wiretaps that Mitchell had authorized without first obtaining a search warrant.
19.
Damon Keith has been called a father-figure to former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, who previously clerked for him.
20.
Damon Keith administered the oath of office to her in both 2003 and 2007.
21.
Damon Keith's estate made a $100,000 bequest to a scholarship fund in his name at West Virginia State University.