III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 199 

A resolution honoring the life and legacy of Judge Damon Jerome Keith. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 9, 2019 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Ms. STABENOW) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

A resolution honoring the life and legacy of Judge Damon 

Jerome Keith. 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith was born on July 4, 1922, in 

Detroit, Michigan, and died at his home in Detroit, 

Michigan, surrounded by family and loved ones, on April 

28, 2019; 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith received a bachelor of arts 

from West Virginia State University, a juris doctor from 

Howard University School of Law, and a master of laws 

from Wayne State University Law School; 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith served in the United States 

Army from 1943 to 1946, when he was discharged as a 

sergeant; 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith devoted his life to public service and served more than 50 years on the Federal bench, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 199 ATS 

where he was a champion for civil rights and individual 

liberties for all; 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith served as one of the first cochairmen of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission at its 

inception in 1964, where he worked to oppose discrimination and enforce equal protection under the law; 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith was first nominated to the 

United States District Court for the Eastern District of 

Michigan in 1967 by President Lyndon Johnson and 

served as the District Court’s first African American 

chief judge from 1975 to 1977; 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith became the sixth African 

American to serve on the United States Court of Appeals 

for the Sixth Circuit when he was nominated by President Jimmy Carter in 1977, and he served as senior 

judge on the court from May 1, 1995, until his passing; 

Whereas, in a 1970 decision, Judge Damon Keith upheld the 

civil rights of students in Pontiac, Michigan, when he ordered a bus policy and new boundaries for schools in 

Pontiac, Michigan, in order to end racial segregation; 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith defended the protections guaranteed under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution 

of the United States when he held in United States v. 

Sinclair, 321 F. Supp. 1074 (E.D. Mich. 1971) that the 

United States Government must obtain a warrant before 

beginning domestic electronic surveillance, and that landmark decision was unanimously upheld by the Supreme 

Court of the United States; 

Whereas, in Garrett v. City of Hamtramck, 394 F. Supp. 

1151 (E.D. Mich. 1975), Judge Damon Keith ruled 

against housing discrimination and ordered the city of 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 199 ATS 

Hamtramck, Michigan, to relocate approximately 500 African Americans who had been displaced by federally supported urban renewal projects; 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith worked throughout his career 

to safeguard the civil liberties, civil rights, and voting 

rights of all people of the United States while opposing 

housing, employment, and racial discrimination; 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith has received more than 40 honorary degrees as well as the Spingarn Medal from the 

National Association for the Advancement of Colored 

People, the highest honor awarded by the organization 

for distinguished achievement, and the Edward J. Devitt 

Distinguished Service to Justice Award, the highest 

award that can be bestowed on a member of the Federal 

judiciary; 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith inspired generations of lawyers 

that served under him as clerks and influenced the State 

of Michigan for decades; and 

Whereas Judge Damon Keith, who coined the phrase ‘‘democracies die behind closed doors’’, will be remembered 

for his dedication to upholding the Constitution of the 

United States and his commitment to justice: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate honors the life and legacy 

2 of Judge Damon Jerome Keith and his dedication to up3 holding civil rights. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS