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- Description:
- Part 1: Harold Hoag shares stories of his time as Deputy Clerk and Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court between 1967 and 1982. Hoag talks about deciding to become a lawyer while in the Navy, his law school experience, the role of the law clerk in the judicial process,and the Supreme Court Justices he served under, and how they dealt with cases and how he interacted with each. He also discusses the effect the addition of female justices had on the Court, the law in general, and the history of law enforcement in the United States. Hoag ends by reminiscing about his parents and his childhood. Part 2: Harold Hoag, clerk and Deputy Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court talks about the duties of the clerk, his desire to conduct his office in as apolitical a manner as possible, the partisan nature of the court, shepherding cases through the system and assigning them to the justices by lottery, hiring his own assistant when the case load became to much to bear, and playing "gatekeeper" in the face of the appeals process. Hoag says that the justices have become more like "CEOs and less like judges" as the work load has increased and they have been forced to bring in more clerks and other staff to manage the extreme caseloads. Hoag concludes by recalling the women justices with whom he worked and his legal training at the University of Michigan, and explaining how he came to the Michigan Supreme Court.
- Date Created:
- 2006-03-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Interviews with Michigan State Supreme Court Justices
- Description:
- Part 1: In an oral history interview, former Michigan Supreme Court Justice John W. Fitzgerald discusses his family background, serving in the armed forces, attending law school at the University of Michigan, the early days of his legal career, and running for the the Michigan Senate in 1958 and the newly created Michigan Court of Appeals in 1964. Justice Fitzgerald also talks about his decision to leave the Court of Appeals to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court, the Supreme Court election process, his own campaigns and his decision not to accept campaign contributions from lawyers. Fitzgerald further provides insight on the Supreme Court's decision making process, the composition of the Court during his tenure and the famous Scholle vs. Secretary of State case. Part 2: In an oral history interview, former Michigan Supreme Court Justice John W. Fitzgerald talks about his early days on the Michigan Supreme Court and difficult issues faced by the Court in the nineteen-seventies, including selecting a new Chief Justice in 1974, the death of Justice Thomas M. Kavanagh in 1975, and the investigation of Justice John Swainson later that same year. He says that some cases suffered during that period because the Court was "short-handed". Justice Fitzgerald also discusses memorable cases decided by the Court during his tenure, including People vs. Beavers and the "Poletown" case, the legislative role of the court, and collegiality amongst the justices.
- Date Created:
- 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Interviews with Michigan State Supreme Court Justices