1 1\
.40
s"
An 'Implacable
Dedication'
Lawyer Ernie Goodman will be remembered for
his fierce dedication to civil rights and his deep
humanity.
.
JULIE EDGAR SENIOR WRITER
I
t wasn't easy being the child older, which, in a way, was true."
Mr. Goodman died of a cere-
of Ernest Goodman.
First, the Goodmans stood bral hemorrhage on Wednesday,
out as the neighborhood's only March 26, at Harper Hospital in
Jewish family. Mr. Goodman Detroit. He was 90.
His biographer, Edward Lit-
also associated with the blacks
and communists, whose legal tlejohn, law professor emeritus
troubles he took on when nobody of Wayne State University, de-
else would. Sometimes, neigh- scribed him as one of the great-
bors would cross the street just est trial lawyers in America.
"But he was a soft-spoken gen-
to avoid the family, including
tleman you couldn't help but like.
sons Richard and Bill.
"We didn't have to wear Stars He could talk persuasively in a
of David, but it was definitely way people that would trust him.
something we felt in our day-to- He was very much respected,
day lives. We got it from all probably even by his enemies,"
sides," said Richard Goodman, Professor Littlejohn said.
an attorney with the firm of • Mr. Goodman, who moved to
Goodman, Lister and Peters in Detroit at the age of 5 with his
downtown Detroit. "I think [our immigrant parents Harry and
father] understood our predica- Minnie, graduated from Wayne
ment and he would tell us we University's law school in 1928.
were going to get hurt, but we •He began his legal career work-
would understand it when we got ing for Maurice Sugar, the Unit-
ed Automobile Workers' (UAW) profoundly impacted the course
first legal counselor, and latched of U.S. labor and civil rights his-
onto the cause of the ordinary tory.
"He was the man who, to-
worker — a cause that never
tired him. With the rise of Mc- gether with Maurice Sugar,
Carthyism and the subsequent made it possible for the- unions
witch hunts of radicals and po- to triumph at the end of the
litical activists, Mr. Goodman 1930s and '40s. It was their work
found yet another cause close to in the courts that enabled the
UAW and other unions to estab-
his heart.
In 1951, he and George Crock- lish their presence and power.
"The other legacy was the
ett Jr., a retired Recorders Court
judge, established the nation's work he did with regard to civil
first racially integrated law liberties and fighting Mc-
Carthyism.
firm, Goodman,
The third
Crockett, Eden
[legacy] cer-
and Robb, which
is still in its orig- He latche d onto the tainly was he
was very in-
inal Cadillac
cause of the
strumental in
Tower location in
creating a body
Detroit. The two
ordinar
y
worker.
of court deci-
partners took on
sions with re-
cases ranging
gard to racial
from the defense
of Willie McGee, a black man ac- equality, starting with World
cused of raping a white woman War II. The final act, and he was
in Mississippi, to the trial of six almost 70, was when he defend-
Michigan Communist Party of- ed the defendants of the Attica
ficials, to the trial of several At- case in Buffalo.
"He saw the lawyer not sim-
tica (N.Y.) Prison inmates
accused of fomenting a bloody ply as a person serving the client,
riot. Nearly a dozen of the two but as an instrument of social
lawyers' cases went to the U.S. justice," Rabbi Wine said.
"Over the years, he came to re-
Supreme Court.
Birmingham Temple Rabbi alize he was regarded as a very
Sherwin Wine, who wrote an es- important person," Professor Lit-
say about Mr. Goodman for The tlejohn said. "It's interesting how
Jewish News in 1945, said Mr. things change: people crossing
Goodman's work as an attorney the street one year and people
giving him awards the next. You
have to go far and wide to find
a lawyer who was able to achieve
what Ernie did in a lifetime.
"What was remarkable is he
was able to do what he did with
four guys in downtown Detroit.
They gave meaning and life to
principles they thought were im-
portant."
Richard Goodman put it this
way: "He wasn't gigantic in any-
thing except his personal quali-
ties, like his courage and his
absolute, implacable dedication
to his principles. He was ironclad
in his commitment to what he
believed in. He would not back
off or move over."
Mr. Goodman is survived by
his wife of 65 years, Freda; his
sons, Richard and Bill; daugh-
ter-in-law, Julie Hurwitz; and
grandchildren, Carlos, Alicia,
Amy, Michael, David, Jacob,
Nicholas and Daniel.
Contributions may be made to
the Ernest and Freda Goodman
Scholarship Fund at Wayne
State University Law School, c/o
Wayne State University Fund
Office, 5475 Woodward, Detroit,
48202; the National Lawyers
Guild, 615 Griswold, Room 916,
Detroit, 48226; or the Detroit
Newspaper Agency Strikers Re-
lief Fund, Metropolitan Council
of Newspaper Unions, 3100 East
Jefferson, Detroit, 48207.
❑
"Because Plumbing Doesn't
Have To Be Boring."
__/
GOOD NEWS FOR
PEPOEE WHO CO
TO THE BATHROOM.
You wo'n't get yelled
at by people who take
showers with the
Delta@ 'Ionitor.Tm
The Monitor is a
pressure balance
valve with a high
temperature limit
• stop, meeting or
exceeding
accessibility and
anti-scald standards.
World of Watches
Is Still At
Crosswinds Mail
Come Visit Us At Our
Newly Remodeled Location
Suite #175
810-539-1181
Crosswinds Mall • 4301 Orchard Lk. Rd. • West Bloomfield
Mon. Tues., Wed.:10-6, Thurs. & Fri: 10-8, Sat: 10-6
DELTA
the way
A
s is bra hl
dvance Plumbing Supply Company's showroom features the latest
products the plumbing industry has to offer.
Exceptional brands such as Kohler, Dombracht, Franke, Porcher & American
China are favorites of interior designers and builders alike.
Come see our showroom & let our knowledgeable sales staff make your bath
& kitchen ideas come to life.
ADVANCE
Pleaided9 & •qlextreoe, ScrizA4
ea.
Store hours are 7:30: 5 Mon.-Fri., 8-3 Sat., or other times by appointment.
10
Iti
1977 W. Maple Road, Walled Lake (Between Haggerty & Decker Rds.)
(810) 669-7474