Robert Toms

Robert M. Toms (October 14, 1886 – April 7, 1960) was an American jurist, actor, playwright, composer, and professor born in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His grandfather was among the pioneer settlers of Oakland County, Michigan. Toms attended the public schools of Chicago before earning an A.B. from the University of Chicago in 1907 and an LL.B. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1910. Wayne State University awarded him an honorary degree in 1956, the same institution where he taught Constitutional law. On November 11, 1914, he married Gladys B. Wetmore, and the couple had two daughters, Elinor (Toms) Jones and Margaret (Toms) Cope.

Toms began his legal career in July 1912 when he was appointed assistant prosecutor in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, serving under Hugh Shepherd and Allan Frazer. He left the office in 1914 to enter private practice with the firm Schmalzriedt, Spaulding & Toms, returning in 1920 as chief assistant prosecutor under Paul W. Voorhies. In 1924 he won election as Wayne County Prosecutor, defeating Democrat Louis W. McClear by a margin of 272,327 votes to 45,426. He served two terms in that office. Among his notable actions as prosecutor, Toms appointed Lloyd A. Loomis as the first African American to serve on the prosecutor's staff in Wayne County. In 1921, as chief assistant prosecutor, he submitted draft legislation to the Legislature that would nullify common law marriages in which either party was under the age of 16, a response to a 1920 Michigan Supreme Court ruling that had upheld such marriages even when a girl was only fourteen years old. That same year he filed a petition with Governor Alex J. Groesbeck seeking the removal of Justice George J. Kolowich, who was accused of paying police officers one dollar each to divert cases to his court.

Toms was the prosecutor in the 1925–26 trials of Dr. Ossian Sweet and Henry Sweet. In 1929 he won election to the Third Judicial Circuit Court, securing 43,947 votes in the primary to edge out incumbent Judge L. Eugene Sharp by 936 votes. Sharp requested a recount, which concluded on March 19, 1929, with Toms holding a reduced but confirmed lead of 679 votes, 43,839 to 42,845. In the general election Toms placed eighth among the successful candidates with 101,249 votes. Before his term was set to begin on January 1, 1930, the Michigan Legislature created four additional judgeships in Wayne County, and Governor Fred Warren Green appointed Toms to one of those new positions in August 1929, citing the fairness of recognizing his prior election. The circuit court judgeship carried a six-year term and a salary of $13,500. During his time on the bench, Toms is reported to have tried approximately 40,000 cases.

Beyond his legal career, Toms maintained a parallel life in the performing arts, appearing on Broadway between 1925 and 1945. His stage credits included the drama Manhattan Nocturne, the drama Yours, A. Lincoln, Prologue to Glory, Ramshackle Inn, and State of the Union, among other productions. In addition to his work as a performer, he was also active as a playwright and composer. Toms held membership in a number of professional and civic organizations, including the Detroit Bar Association, the Detroit Board of Commerce, the Fellowcraft Club, Corinthian Lodge F. & A.M., and the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon.