A portrait unveiling ceremony for the late Judge Harry Keidan will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Wayne County Circuit Court in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in downtown Detroit.
The first elected Jewish judge to the Wayne County Circuit Court, Keidan served for 16 years on the circuit court bench before his death in 1943 at the age of 60. He began his legal career in 1904, eventually becoming chief assistant prosecuting attorney. In 1920, he was appointed to a judgeship on the Recorder's Court, later serving as the first presiding judge of that court.
According to reports in The Detroit Free Press, Keidan "assisted in the establishment of the Psychopathic Clinic and the reorganization of the Probation Department." He also served as a one-man grand jury to examine the reasons behind the Detroit banking crisis of 1933, which claimed First National Bank of Detroit and Guardian Bank of Commerce.
The portrait ceremony will be held in the courtroom of Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner. The guest speaker will be U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn, a member of the federal bench for nearly four decades. As a child, Cohn attended the same synagogue as Keidan.
Published: Mon, Oct 01, 2018
