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