[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 75 (Thursday, May 12, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E686-E687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATING THE WASHINGTON PREMIERE OF WALK WITH ME: THE TRIALS OF 
                             DAMON J. KEITH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 12, 2016

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Judge Damon J. Keith's 
outstanding career and service to the United States as we celebrate the 
Washington premiere of the documentary Walk With Me: The Trials of 
Damon J. Keith. Judge Keith has a long and distinguished record and 
this documentary honors

[[Page E687]]

his legacy by chronicling some of his most notable accomplishments.
  From an early age, Judge Keith excelled in and out of the classroom. 
He graduated from Northwestern High School in Detroit, where he ran 
track. He went on to become the first in his family to earn a college 
degree when he graduated from West Virginia State College in 1943. 
After serving in the U.S. Army for three years, he continued his 
education and earned his law degree from Howard University Law School 
in 1949.
  In 1967, Judge Keith became the second African American to sit on the 
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan after being 
appointed by President Lyndon Johnson. He served as a Judge for the 
Eastern District from 1967 to 1977, and was named Chief Judge in 1975.
  During the decade he served the District Court, Judge Keith delivered 
a series of key civil rights rulings including: Davis v. School 
District of the City of Pontiac (1970) (school desegregation); Stamps 
v. Detroit Edison Co. (1973) and Baker v. City of Detroit (1979) 
(employment discrimination and affirmative action); and Garrett v. City 
of Hamtramck (1971) and Zuch v. Hussey (1975) (housing discrimination).
  He was unanimously affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in the 
landmark civil liberties case U.S. v. Sinclair (1971), known as the 
``Keith decision,'' which found that wiretap surveillance absent a 
court order in domestic security cases to be unconstitutional, 
contributing to the passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 
Act (FISA).
  In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Judge Keith to the United 
States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, where he served for 18 
years until he took senior status in 1995. During the 1980's, he 
chaired the Sixth Circuit and Judicial Conference Committees 
commemorating the Bicentennial of the Constitution.
  In the wake of post-September 11 civil liberty challenges, Circuit 
Judge Keith, ruled in Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft (2002) that the 
absolute closure of deportation hearings in 
``9-11 special interest'' cases was unconstitutional, thereby ensuring 
openness in government proceedings.
  Judge Keith is widely revered, having received numerous honors and 
awards, including: the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People's highest award, the Springarn Medal, in 1974; the 
American Bar Association's Thurgood Marshall Award in 1997; the Edward 
J. Devitt Award for Distinguished Service to Justice in 1998, presented 
by a panel comprised of a United States Supreme Court Justice, a 
federal circuit court judge, and a federal district court judge; and 
honorary degrees from Harvard University, Yale University, Georgetown 
University, the University of Michigan, Tuskegee University, and over 
thirty other institutions.
  Throughout his career, Judge Keith has consistently stood as a 
defender of the Constitution and civil rights of all people.
  On the occasion of the Washington premiere of the documentary Walk 
With Me: The Trials of Damon J. Keith, I applaud his many 
accomplishments. I am glad that Judge Keith's story is being shared and 
that many more people will have the opportunity to learn of his 
contributions to our Nation.

                          ____________________