By Zenell Brown
Created in 1824, the Detroit Recorder’s Court was one of the earliest courts of record in the United States. Recorder’s Court was a state court of limited jurisdiction with exclusive jurisdiction over traffic and ordinance matters, and overall felony cases committed in the City of Detroit. (Its jurisdiction did not extend to civil suits.) Recorder’s Court is rich with history: Judge Frank Murphy, who went on to become a U.S. Supreme Court justice ,was chief judge of the Recorder’s Court. The Recorder’s Court is also rich with Black history as the court’s jurisdiction covered the city of Detroit and Detroit has always had a large African American population.
In recognition of the contribution of Black History Month, this article highlights several of the early notable Black judges who served on the Recorder’s Court: Judge Charles W. Jones, Judge Geraldine Bledsoe Ford, George Crockett, and Judge Elvin Davenport. These Judges were among the first African Americans to be on the bench, ascending to the judgeship in the 1950s and 1960’s. Even though a few decades have passed since their judicial service, these judges left an impact that can be witnessed even today.
The 1952 United Nations “We Charge Genocide” petition, the Civil Rights Act of 1957, 1964 Freedom Summer, the 1965 passage of the Voting Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, the Great Migration, Detroit’s 1943 Race Riots, all provide an international, national, and local historical context for the significance of their judgeships. In fact, in 1962 Judge Wade H. McCree Jr., then a federal district judge of the Eastern District, penned “The Negro Renaissance in Michigan Politics,” which appeared in the Negro History Bulletin and tells of several early appointments and elections of Black judges in Michigan. The Renaissance was an acknowledgement of the presence and support for the participation and involvement of Black people in the various facets of democracy.
—————
Earlier Notable Judges of Recorder’s Court
The first Black judge on the Recorder’s Court was Judge Charles Wesley Jones. Jones, a former assistant prosecutor, was appointed to the Detroit Recorder’s Court, July 29, 1950. Jones was not re-elected to the court, but his initial appointment and his strong showing in the primary definitely inspired other Blacks to pursue candidacy for judicial and other offices. Judge Jones’ legacy is even more significant as ultimately the presence of black judges helps ensure the confidence of Black citizens in the fairness in courts and justice. Jones died in 1957.
Judge Elvin L. Davenport served 20 years on Recorder’s Court. He was appointed to the Recorder’s Court in 1965 and was then re-elected, becoming the first African-American judge elected to Detroit Recorder’s Court. He had previously been appointed to the Detroit Common Pleas Court in 1956. Davenport’s 50-year career as an attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, judge on Common Pleas Court and Recorder’s Court, earned him a mention in the Michigan Bar Journal and other periodicals.
In 1966, Geraldine Bledsoe Ford was the first Black woman elected to the bench without benefit of prior appointment in the history of the United States. Against great odds, Ford swept the election, and she led the ticket repeatedly in her subsequent 33 years on the bench. Recorder’s Court merged with Third Circuit Court in 1998 and Judge Bledsoe Ford served another year as a Circuit Court judge, before retiring in 1999.
Bledsoe Ford earned a law degree in 1951 from Wayne State University. She became the first Black woman to attain the position of assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Later, she would be distinguished as the first Black woman to serve as assistant corporation counsel for the City of Detroit.
Judge Bledsoe Ford served as a mentor to the assistant prosecuting attorney assigned to her courtroom, Timothy M. Kenny, who would later become a presiding judge, co-chief judge, and ultimately and currently chief judge of the Third Circuit Court. In 2004, Bledsoe Ford was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame, sharing that distinction with her mother, Maime Geraldine Neale Bledsoe, who was inducted in 1983.
Judge George Crockett Jr. was elected and took the bench in 1966. He would make his historical mark when he was elected chief Jjudge of Recorder’s Court in 1974. A 1974 New York Times article quoted Crockett on his view on the role of the Black judge. “[The role] is to be “the conscience of the judiciary;” to make the system work “as democratically for the have?nots as it does for the haves.”
Crockett would go on to pursue a career in the U.S. House of Representatives. In November 1980, in a special election, Crockett was elected to the 96th Congress to represent Michigan’s 13th congressional district and fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Charles C. Diggs, Jr. He was subsequently elected to a full term and went on to serve until January 3, 1991. Interestingly, Crockett’s campaign manager was Dennis W. Archer, who would later serve on the Michigan Supreme Court and then as mayor of Detroit.
Crockett is buried in Laurel, Delaware, in the New Zion United Methodist Church cemetery, which is walking distance from Crockett Street, named in honor of the Crockett family. Professors Edward J. Littlejohn and Peter J. Hammer’s recently released their book, “No Equal Justice”: The Legacy of Civil Rights Icon George W. Crockett Jr.,” which chronicles the life of Crockett.
—————
Resources:
“Black History from the Year You were Born”: https://www.newsweek.com/black-history-year-you-were-born-1567663
“The Negro Renaissance in Michigan Politics” in the Negro History Bulletin, https://www.jstor.org/stable/44176102
“Black Judges Becoming a Force in U.S. Justice”: https://www.nytimes.com
/1974/02/19/archives/black-judges-becoming-a-force-in-u-s-justice-black-judges-found.html
Special thanks to Judge John Murphy, who shared so much of the history of the Court of Common Pleas and Recorder’s Court and the Black judges who served on these benches.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/subscriptions
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
