Justice Robert Duncan—Monday Memories

Back in the late 60s and early 70s, we belonged to an interracial couples group called Know Each Other (KEO).  It was modeled on the First Community Church Couples Circles plan, but instead of church membership it consisted of 5 white couples and 5 black couples. The membership was quite fluid with divorces, career changes and relocations and people moving on to other activities, but I think we stayed together about 5-7 years. We had some interesting programs and great parties. Interestingly, the black couples were higher up the professional and income ladder than the white couples. Somewhere I probably have a list of names in an old Christmas card book.

Each host planned our meetings and discussions, and one of our members was a judge (don’t remember the title), but he knew Robert Duncan, and invited him to our group to talk.  It must have been before he became the first black on Ohio’s Supreme Court, but maybe not, since that happened in early 1969. I know our group was meeting in 1968.

I wish I could remember more, but it’s been over 40 years.  I only remember my impression—kind, intelligent and destined for great things. It was a good first impression.

                                     

The Ohio State University is grieving the loss of notable alumnus, former Board of Trustees member, distinguished jurist in residence and longtime friend Robert Morton Duncan, who died today at the age of 85.

Duncan was a two-time graduate of The Ohio State University, having earned a B.S. in 1948 and a J.D. in 1952. His service to the university was exemplary. He was a member of the Board of Trustees for The Ohio State University from 1998 to 2007, serving as board chair from 2006 – 2007. In addition to serving as secretary of the Board of Trustees, and as vice president and general counsel for the university, he was a member of the executive committee of the Presidents Club and chairman of the University Hospital Board.

“We are deeply saddened by Judge Duncan’s passing,” said Robert H. Schottenstein, chair of The Ohio State University Board of Trustees. “His service to the university has been exemplary. Judge Duncan was the personification of principle, compassion and wisdom.”

Duncan broke racial barriers when he became the first black judge elected in Franklin County in 1966 and to the Ohio Supreme Court in 1969. He served on the Ohio Supreme Court until 1971, when he became the first black member of the U.S. Court of Military Appeals. President Richard Nixon appointed Duncan to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in 1974, becoming the first black judge appointed to the federal bench in Ohio. It was in this position that Duncan wrote the landmark order ending segregation in the Columbus Public Schools. His fairness, leadership and accessibility to community groups helped ensure a smooth process of desegregation.

He served on the federal bench until 1985, when he joined Jones Day Reavis & Pogue. Other roles he played in his career included attorney examiner for the Ohio Bureau of Workmen’s Compensation, Columbus city prosecutor and chief counsel to the attorney general of Ohio.