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Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; In office: May 1, 1995 – April 28, 2019; Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit; In office: October 21, 1977 – May 1, 1995; Appointed by: Jimmy Carter; Preceded by: Wade H. McCree; Succeeded by: Richard Allen Griffin; Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan; In office:
December 13, 1975 – November 22, 1977; Preceded by: Frederick William Kaess; Succeeded by: Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy; Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan; In office: October 12, 1967 – November 22,
1977; Appointed by: Lyndon B. Johnson; Preceded by: Thomas Patrick Thornton; Succeeded by: Patricia Boyle; Personal details: Born: Damon Jerome Keith, July 4, 1922, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.; Died: April 28, 2019 (aged 96), Detroit, Michigan,
U.S.; Education: West Virginia State University (BA), Howard University (LLB), Wayne State University (LLM) Education and career Keith was born and grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where he graduated from Northwestern High School in 1939. -
[13] Former law clerks also include: • Lani Guinier, the first African-American woman to gain tenure at Harvard Law School[14][15] • Judge Eric L. Clay, who later served with
Judge Keith on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit[5] • Ronald Machen, the former United States Attorney for the District of Columbia[16] • David C. Simmons, the current Chief Administrative Law Judge of the District of
Columbia Commission on Human Rights, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, and former Athletic Director of Howard University[17] • Constance L. Rice, prominent civil rights activist and co-founder of the Advancement Project[18]
• Rashad Hussain, Deputy Associate Counsel to President Barack Obama, and the U.S. representative to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference[19] • Jocelyn F. Benson, Michigan Secretary of State and former dean of Wayne State University
Law School[20] • Daniel Abebe, Deputy Dean of the University of Chicago Law School and professor of law. -
[4] Federal judicial service[edit] 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. -
[2] The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in United States v. U.S. District Court (1972) (also known as “the Keith case”) contributed in 1978 to president Jimmy Carter signing
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). -
[1] In 1964 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.
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He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 12, 1967, and received his commission the same day.
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Damon Jerome Keith (July 4, 1922 – April 28, 2019) 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] • Jonathan J.C. Grey, judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan[22] Legacy Keith donated his personal papers to the Walter P. Reuther
Library in 1994. -
[9] In Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft (2002), Keith, writing for a unanimous panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, found that absolute closure of deportation hearings
in “special interest” cases was unconstitutional. -
[8] Notable cases[edit] In United States v. Sinclair (1971), 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. -
Under the authorization of Attorney General John Ashcroft, Chief Immigration Judge Michael Creppy told all immigration judges to close to the public and media all hearings
associated with immigration that were thought to be related to September 11 investigation. -
[1] Keith was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on September 28, 1977, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated by Judge Wade H. McCree.
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The third case, filed by the ACLU of Michigan representing Rabih Haddad (“Haddad”), one of the men against whom the government had instituted removal proceedings stated that
Haddad, a native of Lebanon, resided in Ann Arbor, Michigan, off and on since 1988. -
He was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1975 to 1978.
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[11] Members of the press and public filed two of the cases challenging the Government’s closure of removal proceedings.
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That decision is commemorated as a “Michigan Legal Milestone” called “the Uninvited Ear” and erected by the State Bar of Michigan.
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[10] These cases were advised to be handled in seclusion, “closed off from the public”, and were held in special interest of national security.
Works Cited
[‘1. Damon Jerome Keith at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c “Damon J. Keith Collection” (PDF). Wayne State University. Archived from the original (PDF)
on August 18, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
3. ^ “Judge Damon J. Keith dies at age 96”. WXYZ. April 28, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
4. ^ “Damon J. Keith, Trailblazing Black Jurist Who Upheld Civil Rights, Dies at 96”. The Washington Post.
April 30, 2019.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b “Fighters for Justice: Damon J. Keith”. Archived from the original on July 8, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
6. ^ NAACP Spingarn Medal Archived 2014-08-02 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ “Alpha Phi Alpha Politicians”.
The Political Graveyard. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
8. ^ “Summary Biography The Honorable Damon J. Keith”. Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
9. ^ “The Uninvited Ear”. State Bar of Michigan. Archived from the original
on August 22, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
10. ^ CASE NOTE: Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft and North Jersey Media Group v. Ashcroft: Enduring Freedom: Can Post-September Eleventh Closure of “Special Interest” Deportation Hearings Withstand First
Amendment Scrutiny? Arkansas Law Review
11. ^ “FindLaw’s United States Sixth Circuit case and opinions”. Findlaw.
12. ^ “Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft (PDF)” (PDF).
13. ^ “Judge Damon J. Keith swears in Michigan’s first woman governor”. Jet.
Johnson. January 20, 2003. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
14. ^ “Damon J. Keith Bibliography”. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
15. ^ Bronner, Ethan (January 24, 1998). “Lani Guinier Joins Faculty of Law School at
Harvard”. The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
16. ^ “Biography of U.S. Attorney, United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia”. Archived from the original on January 2, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
17. ^ “David C.
Simmons Faculty Profile”. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
18. ^ “National Civil Rights Activist, Attorney and NPR Commentator to Speak in Detroit, Oct. 23”. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
19. ^ “President Obama
Announces Key Additions to the Office of the White House Counsel”. whitehouse.gov. January 28, 2009. Retrieved August 16, 2010 – via National Archives.
20. ^ University, Wayne State. “Wayne Law – Wayne State University”. www.law.wayne.edu. Archived
from the original on July 2, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
21. ^ “Daniel Abebe | University of Chicago Law School”. www.law.uchicago.edu. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
22. ^ “Judge Jonathan J.C. Grey”. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
23. ^ “Estate
of prominent federal judge leaves $100,000 to school”. Star Tribune. December 18, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
24. ^ “Women directors fill key U.S. categories at Traverse City film fest”.
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbuck007/8892851067/’]