Otis M. Smith
214th Regent of the University of Michigan
In office
March 7, 1967 – 1970
Preceded byAllan R. Sorenson
78th Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
In office
1961 – December 31, 1966
Appointed byJohn Swainson
Preceded byTalbot Smith
Succeeded byThomas E. Brennan
36th Michigan Auditor General
In office
October 21, 1959 – October 9, 1961
GovernorG. Mennen Williams
John Swainson
Preceded byWilliam R. Hart (acting)
Succeeded byWilliam A. Burgett (acting)
Personal details
Born
Otis Milton Smith

(1922-02-20)February 20, 1922
Memphis, Tennessee
DiedJune 29, 1994(1994-06-29) (aged 72)
Detroit

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]

See also

Sources

Endnotes

  1. ^ The Political Graveyard: Smith, Otis Milton
  2. ^ He was the co-author of Illegal Delay and Confessions in State and Federal Courts - A Civilized Standard, 1 Cath. U. L. Rev. 1 (1950). The Catholic University Law Review gives an annual award in his honor to a staff member for excellence in contributing to the Law Review.
  3. ^ "MPSC - Past Commission Membership". Archived from the original on 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  4. ^ "Man who accounts for Michigan's millions: Auditor-general Otis M. Smith is first Negro elected to state-wide post since Reconstruction". Ebony. 1961. pp. 75–80. Retrieved December 22, 2021. Smith's work as chairman of the state Public Service Commission earned him state-wide support...[He] did such a thorough job of setting fair utility rates and eliminating possible graft that he was known on Michigan's Capitol Hill as 'the man who shot Santa Claus.'
  5. ^ "Otis Smith". Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  6. ^ Stetson, Damon (8 November 1962). "Romney Victory Held Personal As Running-Mates Are Beaten". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society". Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  8. ^ "Columbus School of Law".
  9. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2008-03-09.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Party political offices Preceded byFrank S. Szymanski Democratic nominee for Michigan Auditor General 1960 Succeeded byBillie S. Farnum Political offices Preceded byWilliam R. Hart Michigan Auditor General 1959–1961 Succeeded byWilliam A. Burgett
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