Leader Kearney Remembers Justice Robert M. Duncan

Columbus—Today, Minority Leader Eric H. Kearney released the following statement regarding the passing of Justice Robert Morton Duncan, Ohio’s First African American Supreme Court Justice.

“I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family of Justice Duncan during this difficult time,” said Leader Kearney.  “Justice Duncan was an exemplary leader for many aspiring young, African American lawyers, including myself, by making history as the jurist to break racial barriers in his quest for justice. He will forever be remembered as a devoted servant who believed in equal rights for all.”

Justice Duncan served on the Supreme Court of Ohio from 1969-1971. Prior to his tenure, he served as the first African American judge of the Franklin County Municipal Court. In 1974, President Nixon appointed him to the U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio. Citing the Columbus schools’ desegregation cases as the most meaningful cases over which he presided, Duncan was able to secure equal educational opportunity for all African Americans as a result of the 1977 Penick v. Columbus Board of Education case.

Justice Duncan married his wife Shirley in 1955 and they have three children: Linn, Vincent and Tracey.