Theodore Levin
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Theodore Levin (February 18, 1897 – December 31, 1970) was a prominent immigration lawyer and U.S. federal jurist who served on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan from 1946 until his death in 1970. From 1959 to 1967, he was chief judge of that court.
Levin was born in Chicago, though his family lived in London, Ontario, Canada from 1905 to 1913. After that, Joseph and Ida Levin brought their eight children back to the United States and settled in Detroit, Michigan. Levin earned a law degree in 1920 from the University of Detroit and a master's degree in law in 1924. He entered the practice of law in 1920 with his brother Saul.
In the 1930s, Levin was part of a group of immigration lawyers who opposed the Michigan Alien Registration and Fingerprinting Act. He was a member of the executive board of the National Refugees Service Administration and an officer of the Michigan Commission on Displaced Persons.
In 1933, Levin was appointed special assistant attorney general in an investigation into the Michigan Bank Holiday. From 1944 to 1946, Levin served as a member of the Selective Service Appeal Board.
Levin was appointed to the federal bench in 1946 by President Harry Truman. During his tenure as a federal judge, Levin proposed the creation of the Sentencing Council, which proposed reforms and standards for criminal sentences imposed in federal courts.
He was affiliated with the Jewish Welfare Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, the United Jewish Charities of Detroit, the Jewish Social Service Bureau, the Resettlement Service, the Detroit Round Table of Catholics, Jews and Protestants, and, the Scottish Rite of Free Masonry.
In 1995, the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse in Detroit was named in his memory.
Levin was married to Rhoda Katzin of Chicago. Their son Charles Levin was a Michigan Supreme Court judge. Another son, Joseph Levin, was a candidate for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Another son Daniel Levin is a real estate developer in Chicago. His daughter Mimi Levin Lieber served on the New York State Board of Regents. His nephew Carl Levin is a U.S. senator and his nephew Sander Levin is a U.S. representative.
