Memorial service set for Ohio's 1st black justice

The first black justice to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court was remembered during a memorial service on the campus of his alma mater, Ohio State University.

The court says the service for former Justice Robert M. Duncan was last Friday afternoon at the Fawcett Center in Columbus. The mistress of ceremonies was Justice Yvette McGee Brown, who says Duncan inspired her and many others.

Duncan died earlier this month at age 85.

He was appointed to the high court in 1969 and served until 1971, when President Richard Nixon appointed him to the U.S. Court of Military Appeals. In 1974, Duncan was appointed to the federal court in Columbus, where he decided the city's historic schools' desegregation cases.

Duncan is survived by his wife and their three children.

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