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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
- Description:
- Michigan Supreme Court Justice Otis M. Smith talks about growing up in Memphis, Tenn, his family history, working multiple jobs to pay for college, serving in the U.S. military during World War II, entering law school after the war, and his early professional jobs. Smith says that from a very early age he was filled with a burning desire to succeed in life and to make his mark. Smith also discusses the judicial selection process, his own appointment to the Michigan Supreme Court, the geographic makeup of the Court during his tenure, selection of a Chief Justice, and the interaction of the Justices. He then goes on to discuss his colleagues, including Justices Gene Black, Harry Kelly, John Dethmers, George Edwards, Theodore Souris, Thomas Kavanagh, Michael O'Hara and Paul Adams. Smith speaks eloquently of the serious nature of conducting Court business and discusses his own decision making style, and the issues he dealt with in cases such as Scholle versus Hare, the People versus Lochricco, and the Fenestra, Mallory, and Pittsfield Township cases.
- Date Created:
- 1990-10-23T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Interviews with Michigan State Supreme Court Justices