44 | JUNE 20 • 2024 

federal judges, two from 
the U.S. Court of Appeals, 
unanimously ruled in 
Arrowsmith v. Voorheis that 
the law “is unconstitutional 
and invalid.”
There was some talk 
of an appeal, but nothing 
ever came of it, and the 
next year, another panel of 
federal judges reaffirmed 
its unconstitutionality and 
forbid its enforcement 
forever.
Theodore Levin’s 
reputation had been made. 
He went on to become a 
major leader in the Detroit 
Jewish community, serving 
on and usually chairing 
virtually every major 
institution from the Jewish 
Welfare Foundation to the 
Sinai Hospital Board. He was 
a close friend of founding 
JN editor/publisher Philip 
Slomovitz and, in 1942, was 
a founding member of the 
board of directors of the new 
Detroit Jewish News. 
He also took an active 
interest in the new refugees 
created by World War II, and 
served on many boards and 
committees, including as vice 
president of the Michigan 
Commission on Displaced 
Persons.

A LASTING LEGACY
Then, one day in July 1946, 
a young lawyer named Ira 
Kaufman stopped by Levin, 
Levin, Garvett and Dill to 
find a “tremendous hubbub.” 
Kaufman, later a probate 
judge, soon found out why: 
“Washington, D.C., was on 
the phone.”
President Harry Truman 
was nominating Theodore 
Levin to be a federal judge 
on the U.S. District Court 
for the Eastern District of 

Michigan. Levin went on to 
be one of the most notable 
district judges in the nation, 
courageously standing up 
against a “red scare” bill that 
threatened civil liberties, and 
pioneering a system of long-
overdue sentencing reform 
that was adopted nationally.
But one of the things he 
most liked to do throughout 
his career was preside 
over ceremonies where 
immigrants became new 
citizens.
Tragically, Theodore Levin 
died after a brief illness on 
Dec. 31. 1970. Years later, 
U.S. Rep. John Dingell Jr. 
introduced and fought for a 
bill to rename the building 
where federal cases are 
heard the Theodore Levin 
United States Courthouse. 
In November 1994, it finally 
passed both houses of 
Congress unanimously. 
President Bill Clinton 
signed it into law, and the 
courthouse was officially 
dedicated May 1, 1995, with 
ceremonies and remarks by 
family members, colleagues 
and dignitaries, including 
Theodore Levin’s nephews, 
U.S. Rep. Sander and U.S. 
Sen. Carl Levin.
His former law clerks 
all donated to pay for the 
official sign that designated 
the building’s new name. 
One of them, the late 
Irwin Alterman, wrote that 
“placing his name on the 
courthouse adds luster to 
the building itself and to 
the principles that guide the 
judicial business conducted 
inside.” 
Those new arrivals and 
others who Theodore Levin 
fought for as a lawyer and 
protected as a judge would 
almost certainly agree. 

continued from page 42

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