Judge Damon Keith: The Judicial Antidote to Judge Julius Hoffman Challenging Claims of Unilateral Executive Authority

From some of the highly-publicized trials of the 1960's - namely the trials of the Chicago Eight, Panther Twenty-One, Weathermen - we can draw indispensable lessons about the role of the judges in upholding and promoting a fair justice system. The contract to Judge Julius Hoffman's notorious injudicious conduct in the Chicago 8 case is the courageous, thoughtful Judge Damon Keith, in the less publicized White Panther case in Detroit in the early 1970's. Judge Keith's overriding sense of fairness, exemplified the best of judicial independence in considering President Nixon's claims of unilateral executive authority in US v. Ayers and US v. US District Court. Judge Keith's exemplary judicial conduct is an embrace of judicial independence that provides inspiration in current times.