Otis M. Smith
Otis M. Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 214th Regent of the University of Michigan | |
| In office March 7, 1967 – 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Allan R. Sorenson |
| 78th Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court | |
| In office 1961 – December 31, 1966 | |
| Appointed by | John Swainson |
| Preceded by | Talbot Smith |
| Succeeded by | Thomas E. Brennan |
| 36th Michigan Auditor General | |
| In office October 21, 1959 – October 9, 1961 | |
| Preceded by | William R. Hart (acting) |
| Succeeded by | William A. Burgett (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Otis Milton Smith February 20, 1922 Memphis, Tennessee |
| Died | June 29, 1994 (aged 72) Detroit |
Otis Milton Smith (1922–1994) was the first African American justice on the Michigan Supreme Court and the General Counsel for General Motors.[1]
Smith graduated from law school at The Catholic University of America in 1950, where he was a member of the first volume of the school's Law Review.[2]
He then went to Flint, Michigan, where he engaged in private practice until 1957. At that time he was appointed to the Michigan Public Service Commission.[3]
From 1959 until 1961 Smith served as Michigan Auditor General.
He was appointed a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court in 1961 by Governor John Swainson.[4] He lost a re-election bid in 1967, and was then hired by General Motors. He would rise to become vice-president and General Counsel. In 1968, Smith served as a presidential elector. In 1983, his portrait was dedicated at the Michigan Supreme Court.[5] A portrait also hangs in the admissions of The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.[6]
A scholarship in his name is administered by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. It is given to a single mother, and can be used for tuition at Wayne State University, any campus of the University of Michigan, or the law school at The Catholic University of America.[7]
Sources
- Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society
- Flint Public Library
- Michigan Bar Journal
- 1990 interview with Roger F. Lane
Endnotes
- ^ The Political Graveyard: Smith, Otis Milton
- ^ He was the co-author of Illegal Delay and Confessions in State and Federal Courts - A Civilized Standard, 1 Cath. U. L. Rev. 1 (1950). The Catholic University Law Review gives an annual award in his honor to a staff member for excellence in contributing to the Law Review.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society: Otis Smith
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1922 births
- 1994 deaths
- African-American judges
- African-American lawyers
- Michigan Auditors General
- Michigan Supreme Court justices
- Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee
- Michigan state court judges
- Michigan lawyers
- Columbus School of Law alumni
- 1968 United States presidential electors
- 20th-century American judges
- 20th-century American politicians
- 20th-century American lawyers