Your New Spring
Look Always
Starts Outside!
MEMORY page 1
INCORPOR ATED
Theodore Levin lends his name to a
Detroit monument.
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David Page and Rabbi Irwin
Groner of Congregation Shaarey
Zedek will be among those par-
ticipating in the 10 a.m. dedica-
tion.
The building has housed gov-
ernment agencies in addition to
the courts. But most other agen-
cies have moved or will move to
other downtown locations.
The sitting judges asked U.S.
Reps. Dingell and Collins to initi-
ate legislation in Washington to
name the building in the judge's
memory.
"Judge Levin served the
Eastern District of Michigan dur-
ing Detroit's golden years, a time
when this city was known as an
example of the American dream,"
said Rep. Dingell on the floor of
the U.S. House of Representatives.
The congressman once served as
Judge Levin's law clerk.
"It is fitting that we place the
name of Theodore Levin on this
prominent building, at the center
of a city rebuilding itself"
U.S. District Court Judge John
Feikens first met Judge Levin in
the fall of 1960, when Judge
Feikens was given a temporary
appointment on the court.
"We became firm friends,"
Judge Feikens said. "He became
my mentor, and I his protege."
When a member of Congress
prevented Judge Feikens from se-
curing a permanent court ap-
pointment, Judge Levin contacted
his friend Arthur Goldberg, the
U.S. Supreme Court judge. Judge
Feikens was eventually reap-
pointed by President Nixon in
1970.
Judge Levin helped his wife's
cousin in a similar way. When Dr.
Alexander Walt and his family
were living in South Africa, Judge
Levin begged them to come back
to Detroit. The judge called his
friend, the dean of the Wayne
State University medical school,
to see if there was a position avail-
able for Dr. Walt. The family re-
turned to Detroit.
More than 30 years after re-
turning, Dr. Walt describes his
relative as "an unforgettable per-
son who loved everyone."
Judge Feikens, who was
confirmed a few weeks
before Judge Levin died,
remembered his "outstand-
ing commitment to this
court."
"From the time he start-
ed in 1946 until his death
in 1970, he was active in
this court," Judge Feikens
said. "He never entertained
ideas of moving to another
court. His work was here
and he was committed.
"He had a sixth sense
about the human condition.
He didn't hesitate to pun-
ish in criminal cases when
it was necessary, but he
didn't punish for punish-
ment's sake."
As an attorney, he fought
against the Michigan Alien
Registration and Fingerprinting
Act of 1931. He won the case, ar-
guing the act contained cruel re-
quirements for immigrants.
When Judge Cohn practiced
law, he was sworn in by Judge
Levin, a good friend of Judge
Cohn's father, Irwin.
"He was a bright man and a
good judge," Judge Cohn said. "He
was friendly and worked well with
the attorneys."
Judge Levin, a member of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek, also
was active in the Jewish commu-
nity. He was president of
Federation, the United Jewish
Committee, the Jewish Social
Service Bureau and Resettlement
Service.
His rabbi at the end of his ca-
reer, Irwin Groner, remembered
the judge as "a loyal and proud
Jew. Not only did he exercise ju-
dicial responsibility, but he had a
moral authority that was univer-
sally recognized."
Judge Levin came to Detroit
from London, Ontario, in 1913 and
worked in a machine shop to put
himself through law school at the
University of Detroit. He earned
two degrees in law.
As an attorney, his forte was
immigration law. He assisted
many immigrants in entering the
United States.
Judge Levin became chief judge
of the Eastern District in 1959 and
held that position until 1967. He
carried a full caseload until his
death in 1970.
Throughout his life, Judge
Levin was devoted to his family.
"Visitors felt a great sense of
warmth in the Levin home,"
Judge Feikens said. Judge Levin
married Rhoda Katzin, with
whom he had four children.
Members of his family are active
in politics. His son Charles was
elected to the Michigan Court of
Appeals and currently serves on
the Michigan Supreme Court. His
daughter Miriam Lieber is a mem-
ber of the Board of Regents of the
State University of Nev., York. Seri
Carl Levin and Rep. Sander Levin
are nephews of the late judge. ❑