W. Wallace Kent

W. Wallace Kent (May 1, 1916 – May 28, 1973) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Education and career

Born on May 1, 1916, in Galesburg, Michigan, Kent received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Michigan College in 1937. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1940. He was an assistant prosecuting attorney and friend of the court in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, from 1941 to 1944. He was the prosecuting attorney of Kalamazoo County, from 1945 to 1946. He was in private practice of law in Kalamazoo County, from 1944 to 1954.

Federal judicial service

Kent was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on May 10, 1954, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, to a new seat created by 68 Stat. 8. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 8, 1954, and received his commission on June 10, 1954. He served as Chief Judge, from 1961 to 1971. His service was terminated on January 6, 1971, due to elevation to the Sixth Circuit.

Significant cases

Bradley v. Milliken, 484 F.2d 215 (6th Cir. 1973), rev'd sub nom Milliken v. Bradley, 418 U.S. 717 (1974), was a school busing case. Judge Kent wrote a partial dissent, the reasoning of which was adopted by the Supreme Court in overruling the Sixth Circuit holding.