Otis M. Smith
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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 | |
| Governor | G. Mennen Williams John Swainson |
| Preceded by | William R. Hart (acting) |
| Succeeded by | William A. Burgett (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Otis Milton Smith February 20, 1922 |
| Died | June 29, 1994 (aged 72) |
Otis Milton Smith (February 20, 1922 – June 29, 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] His reputation for fighting graft there earned him a nickname: "the man who shot Santa Claus."[4]
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[5] He retained his seat in the 1962 election[6] but lost re-election in 1966, 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.[7] A portrait also hangs in the admissions of The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.[8]
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.[9]
