ALUMNI PROFILE
LEARNING FROM A LEGEND Azar Alexander ’16 clerked for his legal hero, Judge Damon Keith BY C LAUDI NE B ENMAR
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LAWYER MAGAZINE Fall 2019
Not many federal judges are household names. Then again, most federal judges aren’t Judge Damon J. Keith. Growing up outside of Detroit, Michigan, Seattle University School of Law graduate Azar Alexander ’16 knew all about Judge Keith, his home state hero. Keith’s reputation as a civil rights legend was earned through many landmark decisions over half a century on the federal bench: He shut down the Nixon Administration’s use of illegal wiretaps in a case that came to be known simply as “the Keith case.” He ruled against forced segregation in education and housing. He protected journalists’ access to high-profile immigration hearings after 9/11. He reinforced voting rights for African Americans. Alexander, 31, had the opportunity of a lifetime last term to serve as Keith’s law clerk in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Sixth Circuit. His hero became his boss. Sadly, Alexander was one of Keith’s last clerks; the judge died in office in April 2019 at the age of 96. “Judge Keith navigated this world with a moral compass that put him on the right side of history,” Alexander said. “He did what he thought was the most right for the most people, regardless of public opinion or political pushback. That’s something I’ll always carry with me.” As Keith’s law clerk, Alexander was pleased to discover that this man he had idolized for so long was down to earth, welcoming, and approachable. Every February, he invited members of the community into his courtroom for a soul food luncheon, where he would honor people for their service to Detroit. He hosted a massive cookout on his farm in Virginia every Fourth of July – his birthday,
