Portrait unveiled of Third Circuit Court judge

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The newly unveiled portrait of Judge Harry B. Keidan hangs in the courtroom of Third Circuit Court Judge David A. Groner. Keidan was the first Jewish judge elected to the Third Circuit Court. He served on the bench from 1927 to 1943.

The portrait unveiling that took place Oct. 10 shines a light on the rich and diverse history of the Third Circuit Court, which is being preserved and shared by the Court’s Historical Committee. The Third Circuit Court Historical Committee was established in 2017 and is comprised of volunteer court staff and judges.

As part of the unveiling, U.S. Eastern District Judge Avery Cohn  shared the history of Keidan whose accomplishments include sitting as a one-man jury inquiring in the Detroit banking crisis of 1933.

Cohn vividly remembers the shock of the banks closing in 1933 and has authored articles and materials about Keidan’s role as the one-man grand jury to determine if the bank management’s misconduct was the cause of the bank failures.

Keidan was appointed to Detroit Recorder’s Court in 1920. He was a leading force in the establishment of the Psychopathic Clinic and Reform in the Probation Department.

Keidan was appointed in 1927 to the Wayne County Circuit Court by Gov. Fred. W. Green. He was elected in 1928 and served three terms until his death in 1943.

Ten years before his death, Keidan was selected as a One-Man Grand Juror during the Detroit Bank Scandal of 1933 to investigate the closing of banks. Judge Keidan conducted the investigation over four months of public hearings. Keidan found no evidence of criminality.

The judge was known for his expertise in conciliation in labor and civic disputes. He had a keen sense of humor and was known for his utmost patience. Keidan was a traditionally observant Jew, who was known to walk to the courthouse from his Chicago Boulevard home if he were needed at work on the Sabbath. when he died, the Detroit City Council passed a resolution stating, “A judge who never condemned; a counselor who never berated.”

The August 1943 Detroit Times wrote, “He was a great man because he was utterly unselfish. He never tried consciously to add to his own stature but gave tirelessly of his greatness to help his troubled fellows. He could be a stern judge if the occasion demanded, but his inclination always was to lean down and lift the unfortunate waivers who came before him.”

The Harry B. Keidan Elementary School was dedicated in 1963 on Collingwood and Petoskey and the Detroit Free Press wrote at the time that Keidan was a “jurist par excellence ... a man of great heart and mind,” a role model for youth who was “devoted to judaism and the American ideal.”

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