List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Michigan

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Michigan. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are men who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to obtain a law degree or become a political figure.

Firsts in state history
Patrick Miles: First African American male to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan (2012)

Lawyers
  • John C. McLeod (1870):[1][2] First African American male lawyer in Michigan
  • David "D." Augustus Straker:[3][4] First African American lawyer to appear before the Michigan Supreme Court (c. 1880s)
  • Arthur K. Ozawa (1910):[5][6][7] First Asian American male (who was of Japanese descent) lawyer in Michigan
  • Michael Berry (1950):[8][9] First Arab American and Muslim-American male lawyer in Michigan
Judges
Circuit Court
  • Harry B. Keidan:[14] First Jewish American male appointed as a Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit in Michigan (1927)
Supreme Court

Assistant Attorney General
  • Harold E. Bledsoe:[20] First African American male to serve as the Assistant Attorney General of Michigan

United States Attorney

Bar Association
  • William H. Ellmann:[24] First Jewish American male to serve as the President of the Michigan Bar Association
  • Dennis Archer (1970):[25] First African American male to serve as the President of the Michigan Bar Association (1984-1985)

Faculty
  • Harry T. Edwards (1965):[26] First African-American male to teach at University of Michigan Law School (1970). He would later become a judge.

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Bay County

Calhoun County

Clinton County

Eaton County

Genesee County
  • Ollie B. Bivins Jr.:[32] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Flint Municipal Court (1969) and Genesee County Circuit Court, Michigan (1972)
  • Elisha Scott:[33] First African American male to serve as an administrative judge in Flint, Michigan [Genesee County, Michigan]
  • Claude W. Haywood:[33] First African American male admitted to the Genesee County Bar Association, Michigan
  • William Price III:[33] First African American male to serve as President of the Genesee County Bar Association, Michigan (1970-1971)

Ingham County

Isabella County

Kalamazoo County

Kent County
  • Olivier M. Green:[38] First African American male elected as a member of the Grand Rapids Bar Association (1925) [Kent County, Michigan]
  • John T. Letts:[2] First African American male elected as a judge in Kent County, Michigan (1959)

Oakland County
  • Oliver Green:[39] First African-American male lawyer in Pontiac, Michigan (1926) [Oakland County, Michigan]
  • Michael Martinez:[40][41] First Hispanic American male judge in Oakland County, Michigan (2004)

Saginaw County

Wayne County
  • Elvin L. Davenport:[43] First African American male elected as a Judge of the Common Pleas Court for the City of Detroit (1956) and later the Recorder’s Court for the City of Detroit (1957) [Wayne County, Michigan]
  • Damon J. Keith:[44] First African American male lawyer for the Wayne County Friend of the Court (1959)
  • Harry B. Keidan:[14] First Jewish American male appointed as a Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit in Michigan (1927) [Wayne County, Michigan]
  • Wade McCree Jr.:[45] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the Wayne County Circuit Court in Michigan

See also

Other topics of interest

References
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  2. Littlejohn, Edward J. (May 2015). "Michigan Black Lawyers' "Firsts"" (PDF). Michigan Bar Journal.
  3. Thomas, Lee (2020-02-03). "In 1890 David Augustus Straker fought for everyone to be served in public". FOX 2 Detroit. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  4. Bogen, David S. (2007). "Why the Supreme Court Lied in Plessy". Villanova Law Review.
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