George C. Edwards (Michigan jurist)
Encyclopedia
George C. Edwards, Jr. was a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1956 until 1962 and judge on the United States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals from 1963-1995.
Edwards was born in Dallas, Texas
. He received his bachelors degree from Southern Methodist University
and a masters degree from Harvard University
. He then received a law degree from the Detroit College of Law.
Edwards moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1936 and became a UAW union organizer. In 1939 Edwards was appointed director-secretary of the Detroit Housing Commission by Mayor Edward Jeffries. He was elected to the Detroit Common Council in 1941 at the age of 25. Then from 1943-1946 he served in the United States Army, primarily stationed in the Philippines. Upon return from army duty, Edwards began his law practice and also returned to the common council and was elected president of the counil that year. In 1949 Edwards ran for Mayor of Detroit but lost to Albert Cobo in a racially charged election in which Edwards stood up for equal rights for blacks and the protection of individual civil rights.
In 1951 Gov. G. Mennen Williams appointed Edwards as probate judge of the Wayne County Juvenile Court. In 1954 he was elected to the Wayne County Circuit Court. In 1956 he was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court to fill a vacancy, and was subsequently elected to this court for two more terms.
Edwards resigned from the Michigan Supreme Court in 1962 when he was appointed Detroit Police Commissioner by Mayor Cavanagh, in hopes that he could help ease the racial troubles in the city.
On September 2, 1963, President John F. Kennedy submitted Edwards name to the U. S. Senate for appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. His confirmation hearing commenced the day before President Kennedy was assassinated. He was renominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson confirmed December 19, 1963, over the objections of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover. Edwards was sworn in the next day. He served as Chief Judge from January 16, 1979 to September 30, 1983. After two more years on the bench, Judge Edwards assumed Senior Circuit Judge status on January 15, 1985.
Edwards wrote Pioneer at Law: A Legacy in Pursuit of Justice, a biography of his fatehr George C. Edwards, and an autobiographical of his own early life, it was published in 1974.
Edwards was born in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. He received his bachelors degree from Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
and a masters degree from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He then received a law degree from the Detroit College of Law.
Edwards moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1936 and became a UAW union organizer. In 1939 Edwards was appointed director-secretary of the Detroit Housing Commission by Mayor Edward Jeffries. He was elected to the Detroit Common Council in 1941 at the age of 25. Then from 1943-1946 he served in the United States Army, primarily stationed in the Philippines. Upon return from army duty, Edwards began his law practice and also returned to the common council and was elected president of the counil that year. In 1949 Edwards ran for Mayor of Detroit but lost to Albert Cobo in a racially charged election in which Edwards stood up for equal rights for blacks and the protection of individual civil rights.
In 1951 Gov. G. Mennen Williams appointed Edwards as probate judge of the Wayne County Juvenile Court. In 1954 he was elected to the Wayne County Circuit Court. In 1956 he was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court to fill a vacancy, and was subsequently elected to this court for two more terms.
Edwards resigned from the Michigan Supreme Court in 1962 when he was appointed Detroit Police Commissioner by Mayor Cavanagh, in hopes that he could help ease the racial troubles in the city.
On September 2, 1963, President John F. Kennedy submitted Edwards name to the U. S. Senate for appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. His confirmation hearing commenced the day before President Kennedy was assassinated. He was renominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson confirmed December 19, 1963, over the objections of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover. Edwards was sworn in the next day. He served as Chief Judge from January 16, 1979 to September 30, 1983. After two more years on the bench, Judge Edwards assumed Senior Circuit Judge status on January 15, 1985.
Edwards wrote Pioneer at Law: A Legacy in Pursuit of Justice, a biography of his fatehr George C. Edwards, and an autobiographical of his own early life, it was published in 1974.