The Hon. David F. Breck

Judge David F. Breck "Dick" died peacefully on Friday, April 10, 2009, after a short battle with leukemia. He was at home and surrounded by family. He was 78 years old. Dick grew up on Taylor Avenue in Detroit with parents Samuel and Margaret, and brother, Sam. Dick attended Cranbrook where, in addition to being a wiz on the basketball court (at 6'4"), he also held the self-proclaimed record for most time spent on the "unsat" (unsatisfactory) list. Nevertheless, he graduated in 1949, with classmates who would become life-long friends. Prior to his death, Dick was busily planning his 60th high school reunion. Dick received Cranbrook's Distinguished Alumni Award. After high school, Dick turned down a basketball scholarship from the University of Texas and instead played for Michigan State University (that other school). While there, he met Fran Miller who, for reasons that still remain a mystery to her friends, eventually agreed to marry Dick in 1954, just before he entered law school at Wayne State University. Dick later transferred to University of Michigan Law School. Dick's interest in the law came early when as a child, he rode the bus downtown to watch trials in Recorders Court. Dick graduated from law school in 1957 and joined Markle & Markle in Detroit. Dick formed his own firm in Orchard Lake, which he left when he joined the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office in 1963. He later returned to private practice. Dick was elected to the Birmingham city commission in 1963, where he served until 1976, with two terms as mayor. In 1976, Governor William Milliken appointed Dick to the 48th District Court and to the Circuit Court in 1982, where he served until he reluctantly retired 2000, only after unsuccessfully challenging the constitutional amendment requiring judges to retire at age 70. After his retirement, Dick was responsible for establishing the Drug Court in Oakland County and sitting as its first judge. Dick received many awards during his long legal career, including the Leon Hubbard Award in 1994 and the Michigan Bar Association's Champion of Justice award in 1998. Former Gov. William G. Milliken said Dick "was a very good man. He was a man of integrity and courage and great humanity." He also said Dick "was one of my very best appointments." Throughout his life, Dick was a champion for equal rights. As an attorney, he represented minorities in housing discrimination cases. While on the city commission, Dick was instrumental in passing Birmingham's fair housing ordinance, the first such ordinance adopted in any all white suburb in the United States. In 1987 the Oakland county branch of the NAACP presented Dick with its Presidential Award for his work "protecting civil rights and civil liberties, for assuring equal justice and fair treatment regardless of the color of their skin or religious preference." Dick was also the first dues paying member, founder and director of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association. Dick was an active member of the Advisory Board of Horizons Upward Bound (HUB) at Cranbrook. HUB identifies talented minority students who may not attend college unless given a "better chance" by attending Cranbrook in the summer and receiving tutoring on Saturdays. While a Circuit Judge, Dick presided over several ground-breaking cases. They included the first right to die case in Michigan, and People v Kevorkian, where Dick ruled that assisted suicide was not a crime under existing state law. Dick also strongly advocated against mandatory minimum sentences in drug cases. Throughout his career, Dick fought fearlessly for the underdog and underprivileged, regardless of the cost, personal or professional. Fran died in 1981 after a short battle with cancer. With Fran, Dick has 3 children: Kevin (Anne), Margaret (Kenny), and Kathleen (Paul), of whom he was enormously proud (and rightly so). They in turn have 9 children: Ian, Kelsey, Emily, Mary, Jessica, David, Gabriel, Benjamin and Rebecca. Although his family and friends will miss him greatly, he lived a life filled with fun, beautiful things, good friends and family. He was well and truly loved. A memorial celebration will be held on Saturday April 18th, 11:00a.m. at the Birmingham Unitarian Church, 38651 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills, MI 49304. Visiting begins at the church 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Horizons Upward Bound at Cranbrook Schools, P.O. Box 801, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303-0801.