Interview with former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Theodore Souris

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Description:

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Theodore Souris discusses his family history, living in Detroit and then Ann Arbor as a student, joining the Air Force in 1943, and finally returning to the University of Michigan in 1945 to finish his undergraduate degree and complete law school. Souris also talks about knowing Michigan legends G. Mennen Williams and Neil Staebler, practicing law after graduating, being involved in the election recounts of 1950 and 1952, and his unexpected appointment to the Michigan Supreme Court. Souris says that his first weeks on the Court were challenging, but that he worked quickly to initiate needed changes in such matters as the process of acquiring copies of briefs and creating "Window Reports." He also weighs in on the statistical analyses of the Court's work, court processes, writing opinions, the relationships of Justices during his tenure and the work of such colleagues as Justices Talbot Smith and George Edwards. The Michigan Supreme Court confronted many thorny legal issues during his time, Souris says and chief among these were Michigan court reform, the one-man grand jury law, government immunity, presumption of undue influence, summary judgment, and the right of discovery. Souris discusses each and how such cases and court decisions affect the creation and revision of laws.

Date Created:

1990-11-05T00:00:00Z

Data Provider:

Michigan State University. Libraries

Collection:

Interviews with Michigan State Supreme Court Justices

Place:

Michigan, Michigan, Michigan, Michigan, and Michigan

Subject Topic:

Officials and employees, Judges, Judges, Friends and associates, Military life, Officials and employees, Selection and appointment, Judges, Selection and appointment, Contested elections, and Judicial process

Subject Name:

Souris, Theodore, 1925-, Michigan, Supreme Court, Souris, Theodore, 1925-, Souris, Theodore, 1925-, United States, Army Air Forces, Michigan, Supreme Court, Michigan, and Supreme Court

Subject Genre:

Interviews, Interviews, Interviews, and Biography

Language:

English

Rights:

In Copyright

URL:

https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m54x54g66