| Otis M. Smith | |
| Order: | 214th |
| Office: | Board of Regents of the University of MichiganRegent of the University of Michigan |
| Term Start: | March 7, 1967 |
| Term End: | 1970 |
| Predecessor: | Allan R. Sorenson |
| Order2: | 78th |
| Office2: | List of justices of the Michigan Supreme Court#Former JusticesJustice of the Michigan Supreme Court |
| Term Start2: | 1961 |
| Term End2: | December 31, 1966 |
| Order3: | 36th |
| Office3: | Michigan Auditor General |
| Term Start3: | October 21, 1959 |
| Term End3: | October 9, 1961 |
| Predecessor3: | William R. Hart (acting) |
| Successor3: | William A. Burgett (acting) |
| Birth Name: | Otis Milton Smith |
| Birth Date: | 20 February 1922 |
| Mawards: | is not set --> |
| Awards: | is not set --> |
Otis Milton Smith (February 20, 1922 – June 29, 1994) was the first African American justice on the Michigan Supreme Court and the General Counsel for General Motors.[1]
Smith graduated from law school at The Catholic University of America in 1950, where he was a member of the first volume of the school's Law Review.[2]
He then went to Flint, Michigan, where he engaged in private practice until 1957. At that time he was appointed to the Michigan Public Service Commission.[3] His reputation for fighting graft there earned him a nickname: "the man who shot Santa Claus."[4]
From 1959 until 1961 Smith served as Michigan Auditor General.
He was appointed a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court in 1961 by Governor John Swainson[5] He retained his seat in the 1962 election[6] but lost re-election in 1966, and was then hired by General Motors. He would rise to become vice-president and General Counsel. In 1968, Smith served as a presidential elector. In 1983, his portrait was dedicated at the Michigan Supreme Court.[7] A portrait also hangs in the admissions of The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.[8]
A scholarship in his name is administered by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. It is given to a single mother, and can be used for tuition at Wayne State University, any campus of the University of Michigan, or the law school at The Catholic University of America.[9]