40 | DECEMBER 3 • 2020 

SOUL

OF BLESSED MEMORY

An Independent ‘Voice of Justice’

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
L

eading with a streak of indepen-
dence and justice for all people, 
former Michigan Supreme Court 
Justice Charles L. Levin died peacefully, 
surrounded by his fam-
ily on Nov. 19, 2020, 
in his Detroit home at 
age 94.
At a private graveside 
funeral on Nov. 20, 
Rabbi Joseph Krakoff 
said that Justice Levin 
was blessed with “the 
crown of a good name.”
“Justice Levin 
embodied kindness and 
gentleness along with 
profound wisdom,” 
Krakoff said. “He had 
unwavering integrity 
as both a scholar and a 
teacher. Above all, his 
life’s importance was his 
family. He reprioritized his life for them, 
whoever needed him most at any given 
time.”
Born on April 28, 1926, in the Dexter-
Davison neighborhood of Detroit to 
Rhoda and Theodore Levin, Justice 
Levin’s life was one shaped by a family 
dynasty steeped in law, politics and pub-
lic service. His cousins Sander Levin and 
Carl Levin both represented Michigan 
in Congress, as does his cousin Andy. 
His father was chief judge of the U.S. 
District Court of the Eastern District of 
Michigan for whom the Theodore Levin 
United States Courthouse in Downtown 
Detroit is named.
As a Michigan Supreme Court mem-
ber, Justice Levin’s opinions have been 
widely published and taught in law 
schools throughout the United States. 
According to the Michigan League 
of Conservation Voters, Justice Levin 
ruled several times on the environment, 

sometimes deciding in favor of strict 
regulations to protect Michigan’s water-
ways and Great Lakes from agricultural 
and phosphorus runoffs and overfishing, 
but at other times in 
favor of loosening local 
zoning laws for mineral 
extraction.
In a statement, U.S. 
Rep. Andy Levin, the son 
of Sander, wrote: “Chuck 
was a lawyer’s lawyer 
and a true independent. 
After serving six years 
on the Michigan Court 
of Appeals, he formed 
his own party to run for 
the Michigan Supreme 
Court, and he was 
reelected as an indepen-
dent three more times.
“You could often pre-
dict that Chuck would be 
the deciding vote on a case — but not 
which way he would come down. When 
he wrote a decision, whether for the 
majority, in concurrence or dissent, his 
opinions were scholarly and often read 
like legal treatises. His writing was care-
fully organized, well considered, defer-
ential to legal precedent and sympathetic 
to the rights of individuals.”

‘HIS OWN PERSON’
Former U.S. Rep. Sander Levin fondly 
recalled his cousin “Chuck” as an inde-
pendent, strong justice who “was the 
voice of justice for everyone.”
“Chuck had a deep feeling about equal 
justice for everybody,” said Sander Levin 
in a telephone interview. “The hallmark 
of his life is that he had a strong streak 
of independence. His belief in justice 
guided his judicial life. He was his own 
person, in all aspects, and I think that is 
why he was so well respected.”

Justice Levin received his B.A. from 
the University of Michigan in 1946 and 
his LL.B. degree from the University of 
Michigan Law School in 1947 when he 
was admitted to the Michigan bar. Levin 
joined the New York bar in June 1949, 
the District of Columbia bar in October 
1954, and the bar of the U.S. Supreme 
Court in 1953. He served as a Michigan 
Court of Appeals judge from 1966-1973 
and as a Michigan Supreme Court asso-
ciate justice from 1973-1996.
Outside of his influential law career, 
Justice Levin cherished his family ties 
and his Jewish roots in Detroit. In a 2002 
interview for the G. Robert Vincent Voice 
Library at Michigan State University, 
Justice Levin reflected on growing up in 
a Jewish neighborhood surrounded by 
Jewish friends and an extended immi-
grant family where he felt shielded from 
the antisemitism of his time.
Charles L. Levin is survived by his for-
mer wife and best friend, Judge Helene 
White; his children, Amy (Matt) Levin 
Ragen, Fredrick Stuart (Marsha) Levin, 
Benjamin Joseph White Levin and 
Francesca Rhoda White Levin; and his 
grandchildren, Jacob Eliot Ragen, Joshua 
Brooks Ragen and Emily Rose Levin; 
and siblings Mimi (Charles) Levin 
Lieber, Daniel (Fay Hartog) Levin, and 
Joseph (Diana McBroom) Levin.
He was previously married to the late 
Dr. Patricia Oppenheim Levin Rice. His 
oldest son, Arthur David Levin, passed 
away in 2009. He is also survived by a 
loving extended family and many grate-
ful law clerks.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park 
Cemetery. Donations may be made to 
the Moran-Olsson Exoneree Support 
Charitable Trust, 1213 Dhu Varren Road, 
Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Arrangements 
were by Ira Kaufman Chapel. 

Charles L. Levin

