Feikens was nominated by President Richard Nixon on October 7, 1970, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, to a new seat authorized by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by the Senate on November 25, 1970, and received his commission on December 1, 1970. He served as Chief Judge from 1979 to 1986. He assumed senior status on March 1, 1986.[1] His service terminated on May 15, 2011, due to his death in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan.[2]
Notable Decisions
Procter Gamble Co. v. Bankers Trust Co.
On Wednesday, September 13, 1995, Bankers Trust Co, and Procter and Gamble Co. alerted Judge Feikens that Business Week, a magazine owned by McGraw-Hill, had obtained documents from ongoing litigation between the two parties.[3] Both Bankers and P&G desired the details to remain secret.[3] That same day, without notice or hearing, Judge Feikens issued an order enjoining and prohibiting McGraw-Hill from publishing the documents without consent of the court.[3] The action rose significant First Amendment concerns as a rare instance of prior restraint against the press, a legal issue considered settled in favor of the press in the Pentagon Papers case of 1971, New York Times Company v. United States.[4] On March 5, 1996, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled 2 to 1 that Feikens had been wrong to bar the publication of an article based on the documents.[3]
Professional associations, civic and other activities
Director of the Detroit Bar Association (1962–1967), president 1967; trustee to the Detroit Bar Association Foundation[citation needed]
