MCCREE, WADE HAMPTON, JR. (1920–1987)

Wade McCree was a member of the generation of black lawyers Governor G. Mennen Williams of Michigan once described as "revolutionaries," individuals who by talent and determination succeeded in opening doors that previously had been closed to members of their race. A graduate of Fisk University and Harvard Law School, McCree spent several years in private practice, but then entered upon a career of public service that continued through four decades and earned for him a reputation as one of the most distinguished lawyers of his time.

After serving as a member of the Michigan Workmen's Compensation Commission and as an elected Wayne County circuit judge, he was appointed by President john f. kennedy to the united states district court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Five years later, in 1966, President lyndon b. johnson elevated him to the united states court of appeals for the Sixth Circuit, on which he served until 1977, when President jimmy carter appointed him solicitor general. In 1981, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan Law School, where he served as the Lewis M. Simes Professor until his death. McCree was the first black or among the first blacks to hold each of these positions.

Widely admired for his judicious manner and temperament, his careful craftsmanship, and the breadth and depth of his knowledge, McCree quickly gained a reputation as a judge's judge. As a judge, and more particularly as a judge on an "inferior court," he was constrained within limits set by others, but within the limits of his office he sought to advance what he regarded as the deepest purposes of law, the fair treatment of individuals and the protection of their liberty and security. McCree's career, both on the bench and off, demonstrates the contribution to those goals that can be made in a life spent in the law.

Terrance Sandalow
(1992)

Bibliography

Tributes 1987 Wade Hampton McCree, Jr. Michigan Law Review 86:217–265.