Andrew Grant Douglas was regarded by many of his colleagues in the
legal profession as one of the most intelligent and best-prepared
members of the Supreme Court of Ohio. He served three terms on the high
court from 1985 to 2002.
Douglas was born in 1932 in Toledo to
Andrew and Elizabeth Douglas. He attended the University of Toledo,
where he earned his law degree in 1959. From 1954 to 1956, he served in
the U.S. Army Infantry and Signal Corps and obtained the rank of first
lieutenant.
In 1960, Douglas co-founded the law firm of
Winchester & Douglas. He practiced law in Toledo and Lucas County for 20
years. His resume also includes service as special counsel to the
attorney general of Ohio.
In 1961, at age 29, he was one of the
youngest men elected to Toledo City Council. He was re-elected nine
times, serving until 1980.
In 1980, Douglas was elected to the
6th District Court of Appeals. By appointment of the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of Ohio, he sat as a trial judge for the common pleas
courts in various counties during 1982 and 1983. From 1980 to 1984, he
was an instructor at the University of Toledo Community and Technical
College.
In 1984, Douglas defeated Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas
Judge John Corrigan for Justice of the Supreme Court. He was re-elected
in 1990 and 1996. During that time, he also taught at Ohio Dominican
College from 1992 to 1995.
During the 1990s, Justice Douglas and
Justices Alice Robie Resnick, Francis E. Sweeney and Paul E. Pfeifer
forged a majority. Their decisions expanded workers’ compensation
rights, increased liabilities for insurance companies and declared the
Ohio system of funding public schools unconstitutional.
In an
interview with The Plain Dealer in December 2002, Douglas said his most
meaningful case during his Supreme Court career was in 1987 with Dayton
Power & Light Company v. Ohio Civil Rights Commission. A group of Dayton
Power & Light employees were engaged in “horseplay” on Sept. 12, 1982
and damaged company property. Of the employees involved, Samuel Prather
was the only African-American and the only employee fired on Sept. 13,
1982. The Supreme Court ruled that the power company unlawfully
discharged Prather. Douglas remarked, “Every case that comes here is
important, but if I had to choose an example of moral persuasion of the
court and the ability to do the right thing, that’s it.”
Douglas
explained his judicial philosophy in a 1997 commencement address to
Cleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall College of Law students:
“But a simple rule can help you meet and exceed those expectations.
As you traverse the rocky terrain of the modern practice of law, always
keep this principle in mind… Endeavor to give your clients advice which
will advance their interests while also furthering the interests of
justice. I can think of no greater comfort than laying down your head on
your pillow each night knowing, on that day you helped somebody. We, in
our profession, can do that each and every day.”
Douglas could
not run for a fourth term, as he reached the mandatory retirement age of
70-years-old in 2002. He retired Dec. 31, 2002 and joined the Columbus
law firm of Crabbe, Brown & James as a partner. He also served as
executive director of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association
(OCSEA).
His first wife, Joan, 33, died unexpectedly in
September, 1966, at home. Dr. Harry Mignerey, the Lucas County coroner
then, said hers was a natural death, caused by a heart stoppage
resulting from sensitivity to a disease pathologists were unable to
diagnose.
Mr. Douglas' marriage to Donna Douglas ended in
dissolution in 1982 after more than 12 years.
Surviving are his
wife, Sue Douglas, whom he married in 2010; daughter, Cynthia Reeves;
sons Robert, Andrew "Chip," and David Douglas; eight grandchildren, and
10 great-grandchildren.
Douglas died on September 23, 2021, at the age of 89 |
