George Clifton Edwards Jr.

George Clifton Edwards Jr. (August 6, 1914 – April 8, 1995) was a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Education and career Born in Dallas, Texas, Edwards received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Methodist University in 1933 and a Master of Arts from Harvard University in 1934. Edwards moved to Detroit, Michigan, in 1936 and became a United Automobile Workers union organizer. In 1939, Edwards was appointed director-secretary of the Detroit Housing Commission by Mayor Edward Jeffries. He was elected to the Detroit Common Council in 1941 at the age of 25. He was in the United States Army during World War II, from 1943 to 1946, primarily stationed in the Philippines, where he became a 2nd Lieutenant. He received a Certificate of Completion from Detroit College of Law (now Michigan State University College of Law) in 1944, and a Juris Doctor from the same institution in 1949. Upon return from army duty, Edwards began his law practice and also returned to the common council and was elected president of the council that year. In 1949, Edwards ran for Mayor of Detroit but lost to Albert Cobo in a racially charged election in which Edwards stood up for equal rights for blacks and the protection of individual civil rights. Edwards continued serving as President of the Detroit Common Council from 1946 to 1950, and was also Chairman of the Detroit Election Commission from 1946 to 1950. State judicial service