Charles Levin (judge)
Charles Leonard Levin was a U.S. jurist. He served as a Michigan Court of Appeals judge from 1966 to 1972 and as a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1973 to 1996. He attended the University of Michigan where he received his B.A. in 1946 and his LL.B. in 1947 from the University of Michigan Law School.Career
Born in Detroit, Michigan.
When he decided to run for the Michigan Supreme Court, Levin did not feel comfortable running as either a Democratic or Republican nominee. He then formed his own party and nominated himself. He was elected to two additional terms as an independent candidate. During his tenure on the bench, he gained the respect of many colleagues, prompting U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn to note, "Justice Levin has displayed scholarship, pragmatism, insight, honesty, courage, and humanity."
Levin's father, Theodore Levin, was a federal district court judge. His brother, Joseph Levin, ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1974. His cousin Carl Levin was a U.S. senator for Michigan from 1979 to 2015. His cousin Sander Levin was the U.S. congressman for Michigan's 9th congressional district from 1983 to 2019. His cousin Andy Levin serves as the U.S. congressman for Michigan's 9th congressional district.
In 1999, Levin was remarried to a former law clerk, Helene White, a Michigan Court of Appeals judge since 1992. White was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at the end of his first term. Her nomination was blocked by Michigan's then-U.S. Senator, Spencer Abraham for the entirety of Clinton's second term. In an unexpected move, White was later re-nominated to the Sixth Circuit by President George W. Bush on April 15, 2008. The couple divorced in November 2006.
