12-03-93 Judge Keith to give Commencement Speech

JUDGE DAMON KEITH TO ADDRESS AUTUMN QUARTER GRADUATES

     COLUMBUS -- Damon J. Keith, judge of the U.S. Court of
Appeals, Sixth Circuit, will present the autumn quarter
commencement address at The Ohio State University.

     Approximately 2,080 degrees will be awarded during the
commencement exercises, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Friday,
Dec. 10, in St. John Arena.

     Keith, a resident of Detroit, is one of the best known
African Americans in the judiciary.  He has been honored many
times for his contributions to equality under the law, civil
rights, and affirmative action.

     He was appointed the the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in
1977.  For 10 years prior to that he was a U.S. District Judge
for the Eastern District of Michigan, serving as chief district
judge from 1975-77.

     Among his most noted opinions are his 1972 ruling in United
States vs. Sinclair (also known as the "Keith Decision") in which
he held that President Richard Nixon and Attorney General John
Mitchell were constitutionally prohibited from wiretapping the
residence of a political dissident unless a warrant had been
issued, and in a 1979 "reverse discrimination" case against the
Detroit Police Department in which he ruled that race conscious
promotions may be used to help remedy present effects of past
discrimination.

     A graduate of West Virginia State University and Howard
University Law School, Keith also holds an L.L.M. degree from
Wayne State University School of Law.  All three of his alma
maters as well as 22 other universities, including Michigan and
Yale, have recognized his legal contributions by awarding him
honorary doctoral degrees.

     For 21 consecutive years Keith has been selected as one the
"One Hundred Most Influential Black Americans" by Ebony magazine,
Other awards include the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP, the Eighth
Annual Equal Justice Award of the National Bar Association, and,
most recently, the Thurgood Marshall Award from the Wolverine Bar
Association.

     In 1974, the Damon Keith Elementary School was dedicated by
the Detroit Board of Education.  In 1989, he was a joint
recipient with Gen. Colin Powell of the Patriots
Foundation/General Motors Corp. "One Nation Award."

     This year, the Damon J. Keith Law Collection was established
at Wayne State University.  The first of its kind, the collection
brings together the historical accomplishments of African-
American lawyers and judges in a central depository of over 100
years of records, documents, photographs, personal papers and
memorabilia.

     Keith is executive chair of a conference to be held next May
at William & Mary School of Law on "Brown vs. Board of Education
After 40 Years: Confronting the Promise."

     His commencement address will not be the first time he has
spoken at Ohio State.  In 1992, he was a lecturer in the College
of Law's Frank Strong Lecture Series.

                       Commencement Awards

     Four persons will receive commencement awards.  Honorary
Doctor of Laws degrees will be presented to two Ohio State
alumni: Howard Metzenbaum, three-term U.S. Senator from Ohio; and
Thomas J. Moyer, chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court since
1987.  Don Kirkham, a leading scientist in the fields of soil
physics and hydrology, will receive the honorary Doctor of
Science degree.  A Distinguished Service Award will be presented
to alumnus John G. Kramer, a Martins Ferry dentist who has served
three consecutive terms as chair of the University Hospitals
Board.

                                #

Contact: Ruth Gerstner, University Communications, 292-8424.


[Submitted by: REIDV  (reidv@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu)
               
Fri, 03 Dec 1993 12:08:45 -0500 (EST)]
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