Roth, Stephen J.

Stephen J. Roth was born in Hungary on April 21, 1908 and immigrated to the United States at an early age. He was raised in Flint, Michigan, attended Notre Dame University, and received his law degree at the University of Michigan. His first foray into the public sphere occurred when, having served as a prosecutor in Genesee County, he was elected state Attorney General in 1948. Defeated in 1950, Roth was named a Genesee County judge in 1952 and remained in this position until President Kennedy nominated him for a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1962.

Bradley v. Milliken had its roots in an integration plan put forth by the Detroit Board of Education on April 7, 1970. The 'April 7th Plan', as it was known, called for the reassignment of 9,000 high school students to achieve a measure of desegregation and drew immediate protest from white enclaves in Detroit and led to the formation of Concerned Citizens for Better Education (CCBE). Composed mainly of white parents' and homeowners' groups, CCBE organized a petition drive to recall the liberal Board of Education members responsible for the April 7 plan. The public outcry also led the Michigan State Legislature to nullify the April 7 plan by enacting Public Act 48, section 12 of which stated, "the implementation of any attendance provisions for the 1970-71 school year determined by any first class school board shall be delayed."

...